WASHINGTON, Oct 2 — US presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders was hospitalised yesterday with chest pains that required doctors to insert two stents after finding a blockage in one artery, and he will cancel his campaign events until further notice, his campaign said.

Sanders, 78, was in Las Vegas, Nevada, as part of the 2020 campaign when he experienced discomfort and was taken to a hospital for evaluation.

"Following medical evaluation and testing he was found to have a blockage in one artery and two stents were successfully inserted,” Sanders senior adviser Jeff Weaver said in a statement.

"Sen. Sanders is conversing and in good spirits. He will be resting up over the next few days. We are canceling his events and appearances until further notice, and we will continue to provide appropriate updates,” Weaver said.

Sanders, the oldest candidate among the 19 contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination, was scheduled today to hold a town hall in Las Vegas and appear at a gun safety forum.

He has been among the top contenders in the crowded field seeking the nomination to challenge Republican President Donald Trump.

The campaign halt comes the day after Sanders, a US senator from Vermont, reported a big US$25.3 million (RM106 million) fundraising haul for the third quarter, putting him in the early lead in the money race.

"Thinking of @BernieSanders today and wishing him a speedy recovery. If there’s one thing I know about him, he’s a fighter and I look forward to seeing him on the campaign trail soon,” Democratic rival Kamala Harris, a US senator from California, said on Twitter. — Reuters