Howie Mandel hospitalized

TORONTO, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Howie Mandel's publicist says the Canadian comedian and television personality has been hospitalized in Toronto with an irregular heartbeat.

Mandel's representative told CNN the 53-year-old "Deal or No Deal" host was in Toronto to shoot segments for his new show "Howie Do It" when he was taken to a hospital, so doctors could monitor his condition.

"He did not have a heart attack," Mandel's publicist, Lewis Kay, told CNN, adding that the celebrity is expected to be released later Tuesday.

Mandel's mother, Evy, told the CanWest news service she was terrified when Howie collapsed inside their Toronto hotel room Monday night.

"I saw him and he just fainted. He just went out," the elder Mandel said. "It was just horrendous. I don't know what happened. ... It was terrifying."

She told CanWest that an ambulance was called and paramedics took her son to Toronto's St. Michael's Hospital where he stayed overnight.

"They could have let him go but they said: 'Hey, you know what? Let's keep you here overnight,'" she explained. "I'm just thankful he is fine and, like I say, it has never happened before."