Sen. Edward Kennedy was hospitalized in Boston, Massachusetts, after suffering an apparent seizure Saturday morning, his family said.
"He is undergoing a battery of tests at Massachusetts General Hospital to determine the cause of the seizure. Sen. Kennedy is resting comfortably, and it is unlikely we will know anything more for the next 48 hours," a statement from his office said.
Kennedy was transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston for evaluation after initial treatment at Cape Cod Hospital, an earlier statement from his office said.
The senator spent less than an hour in the Cape Cod facility, hospital spokesman David Reilly said.
Earlier, a well-informed Democratic source in Massachusetts said the 76-year-old senator had "symptoms of a stroke" at the Kennedy family compound in Hyannis Port. VideoWatch an update on Kennedy's condition »
An official with the Hyannis Fire Department said it received a 911 call from the Kennedy compound at 8:19 a.m. and transported a male patient to the hospital, arriving at 8:50 a.m.
The patient was subsequently transferred to the hospital's municipal airport, and a Boston Med Flight helicopter flew the man to Massachusetts General, Lt. Bill Rex said.
Family members reported that Kennedy was well enough later in the morning to call to say he would not be able to join them for lunch.
They said they were guardedly optimistic that he would make a full recovery.
Kennedy had surgery in October to clear his carotid artery in hopes of preventing a stroke. Colleagues said he had recovered quickly and was working energetically recently.
He suffers chronic back pain from injuries suffered in a plane crash in 1964.
Kennedy has represented Massachusetts in the Senate since 1962. He is one of only six senators in U.S. history to serve more than 40 years. He is known as a liberal champion of social issues such as health care, family leave, and the minimum wage.
He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1980. He has endorsed Illinois Sen. Barack Obama for the 2008 nomination.
Obama said that his "thoughts and prayers" are with Kennedy.
"We are going to try to find out as quickly as possible what is going on," Obama said, and added that he would call Kennedy's wife, Vicky.
"He is one of my favorite people," Obama said.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, said in a statement that he was "very sorry to hear that Sen. Kennedy has taken ill and, like millions of Americans, Cindy and I anxiously await word of his condition."
The two senators are close friends despite differing political ideologies. They co-sponsored a comprehensive immigration bill that has stalled in the Senate.
"He is a legendary lawmaker," McCain said.
Presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, said: "My thoughts and prayers are with Ted Kennedy and his family today. We all wish him well and a quick recovery."
John Kerry, the junior senator from Massachusetts, was seen arriving at Massachusetts General Hospital on Saturday afternoon.
Kennedy is the youngest of nine children in the famous family of Joseph and Rose Kennedy. His oldest brother, Joe, died in World War II; two other brothers, President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert Kennedy, were both assassinated in the 1960s
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