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RFK Jr. Hospitalized

Environmental attorney Robert Kennedy Jr. was hospitalized overnight for an irregular heartbeat, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Kennedy, 47, was released from Swedish Medical Center on Wednesday morning after spending the night, said hospital spokeswoman Melissa Tizon. He was in Seattle for a speech.

A hospital news release said Kennedy was admitted with a condition known as atrial fibrillation. The condition can occur in otherwise healthy adults, the release said.

His heartbeat was restored to normal after treatment, and he was released in good condition, the hospital said.

Kennedy, son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, is co-director of the Environmental Law Project at Pace University in White Plains, N.Y., and heads the Hudson Riverkeeper program. His father represented New York in the Senate and was assassinated in Los Angeles in 1968 while seeking the Democratic nomination for president.

Kennedy came to Seattle from Puerto Rico, where he was briefly detained Monday with others protesting U.S. Navy bombing exercises on the island of Vieques.

Spokeswoman Mary Beth Postman at Kennedy's Pace Law School office, said Kennedy was flying Wednesday to give a speech in North Carolina. She said she had no further details.

According to the American Heart Association, about 2 million Americans have atrial fibrillation, in which the two upper chambers of the heart quiver instead of beating regularly. Blood can pool and clot in the chambers, which can lead to stroke in some cases. The condition can be treated with aspirin and other medications.

© MMI Viacom Internet Services Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report

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