(CBS/AP) A spokeswoman for Senator Edward Kennedy said the Massachusetts Democrat is hospitalized in Boston after suffering a seizure.

Stephanie Cutter said it does not appear Kennedy had a stroke, as initially suspected.

Cutter said the 76-year-old senator is undergoing tests at Massachusetts General Hospital to determine the cause of the seizure. She said he remains under evaluation and more information will be released when it becomes available.

Hyannis Fire Lt. Bill Rex told the AP a 911 call came in from the Kennedy compound at 8:19 a.m. Kennedy was first rushed to Cape Cod Hospital, and after being in the emergency room for two hours he was airlifted to Massachusetts General Hospital, according to the Cape Cod Times.

Kennedy was first elected in 1962 to finish the final two years of the Senate term of his brother, Senator John F. Kennedy.

Kennedy, who is the second most senior member of the Senate, has since been re-elected to seven full terms, representing Massachusetts for 43 years. His last win was in 2006.

In October, Kennedy had surgery to repair a nearly complete blockage in a major neck artery. The discovery was made during a routine examination of a decades-old back injury.

The hour-ong procedure on his left carotid artery - a main supplier of blood to the face and brain - was performed at Massachusetts General. This type of operation is performed on more han 180,000 people a year to prevent a stroke.

The doctor who operated on Kennedy said at the time that surgery is reserved for those with more than 70 percent blockage, and Kennedy had "a very high-grade blockage."

Kennedy is the lone surviving son in a famed political family. His eldest brother, Joseph, was killed in a World War II airplane crash. President John Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 and his brother Robert was assassinated in 1968 while campaigning for the presidency.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, beginning a tour of hospitals in Eugene, Ore., told reporters that he had been in touch with the senator's family. "Ted Kennedy is a giant in American political history. He's done more for health care than just about anybody in history. We are going to be rooting for him. I insist on being optimistic about how it's going to turn out."

Kennedy gave Obama's presidential campaign a big boost this year with his endorsement and has campaigned actively for the Illinois senator.

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