US Senator Chris Murphy hospitalised after a stroke, awake and responding to treatment

US Senator Chris Murphy has been hospitalised after suffering a stroke, his chief of staff said in a statement on Sunday.

The 53-year-old Democrat started to feel numbness in his arm on Saturday while attending his son's hockey game. His chief of staff, Allison Herwitt, said he was then taken to a hospital.

Upon examining Murphy, doctors determined he had suffered a stroke. He was later transferred to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore for further monitoring.

Herwitt said: "The doctors are encouraged by his progress, he is awake and alert, and we are optimistic he will make a full recovery." She added that Murphy is responding well to treatment.

Murphy, the senator from Connecticut, is not running in the midterm elections, but he has been stumping for Democrats.