Veteran US Democratic Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy 76 years old has been taken to the hospital on Saturday after suffering a seizure. The symptoms were originally reported to be those of a stroke, but Kennedy spokeswoman Melissa Wagoner said in a statement that it was a seizure.

Kennedy, the liberal lion of the Democratic Party, was taken by helicopter Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Melissa Wagoner said in her statement, “It appears that Senator Kennedy experienced a seizure this morning. He is undergoing a battery of tests … to determine the cause of the seizure. Senator Kennedy is resting comfortably, and it is unlikely we will know anything more for the next 48 hours”.