Iowa Governor Falls Ill, Transported by Ambulance to Hospital
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Steve Pope/Getty Images(DES MOINES, Iowa) — Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad “fell ill” at an event Monday, according to his office, requiring an ambulance to take him to a Des Moines hospital.
In a statement, his office said Branstad was “alert and conscious” as he was transported to Methodist hospital in downtown Des Moines.
“During the transport, paramedics took the governor’s vitals and initial tests indicate that the spell was caused by a seasonal illness,” the statement said. “The governor had been suffering from the effects of a cold.”
Branstad, the longest serving governor in United States history, spent a long day Saturday at the Iowa Freedom Summit talking to potential presidential candidates, doing interviews and addressing the large group of activists gathered.
Des Moines Register reporter Jason Noble reported in a tweet that Branstad was at one point lying on the ground “in distress.”
An aide to the governor told ABC News that Branstad, 68, had been battling the cold and flu in recent days. But during an appearance at his weekly press conference on Monday morning in Des Moines, Branstad’s voice was hoarse, but he otherwise seemed fine.
Branstad has a history of heart illness. He had a heart attack in 2000 and 10 years later had a procedure to open a blocked artery. But aides said they did not believe Monday’s incident was anything more than the cold or flu, but would know more after Branstad was admitted to the hospital.
He was holding an event at DuPont Pioneer, an agriculture company.
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