Former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi will be kept in hospital "for another couple of days" after a public fainting spell that alarmed Italians Sunday, doctors said Monday afternoon.
Berlusconi, 70, would have the "normal tests required after such an episode," said Alberto Zangrillo, head of cardiovascular intensive care at Milan's San Raffaele Hospital.
He said tests carried out so far had not raised special cause for concern.
"We decided to keep Berlusconi in hospital because the tests take time to be carried out properly," Zangrillo said.
The doctor's announcement contradicted widespread media reports that Berlusconi would be released no later than Tuesday.
The ex-premier's aides confirmed, however, that the opposition leader would "definitely" be in Rome Saturday to lead a protest against the centre-left government's belt-tightening 2007 budget.
"He is well," spokesman Paolo Bonaiuti said.
On Sunday, Berlusconi soon recovered consciousness after being carried off the stage at a Tuscan rally.
True to his reputation for humour, the centre-right leader jokingly mistook the bearded cardiologist who examined him for Osama bin Laden.
Berlusconi, who served as premier for eight months in 1994 and then from 2001 to May 2006, shrugged off the incident but some commentators said it fuelled speculation about the opposition's perceived over-reliance on his leadership.
Berlusconi was taken to the San Raffaele for tests - but only because Zangrillo, the intensive care chief there, is one of his personal physicians.
After the incident at a convention hall in Montecatini, Tuscany, Berlusconi went home to his mansion outside Milan and then, on his doctor's recommendation, to the San Raffaele.
The media baron is believed to have momentarily suffered a drop in blood pressure due to stress and fatigue.
The Italian press reported that the decision to have him hospitalised was made after an electrocardiogram taken at his home showed an irregular heartbeat.
TV images of the ex-premier losing consciousness were broadcast worldwide and calls of support came from across the Italian political spectrum.
Berlusconi, Italy's richest man, has had similar fainting spells in the past and he has always blamed them on working too hard and sleeping too little.
He has also successfully battled prostate cancer.
