NATION : Ailment Hospitalizes Abernathy

The Rev. Ralph David Abernathy, right-hand man to Martin Luther King Jr. during the peak of the civil rights movement, was hospitalized today for a sodium imbalance, his doctor said.

Abernathy was in fair condition in the cardiac unit at Crawford Long Hospital of Emory University, said his physician, Dr. Robert Kaufmann. Although Abernathy’s heartbeat is being monitored, he is not suffering from a heart problem, the doctor said.

Kaufmann said Abernathy’s wife called him Thursday night after Abernathy became lethargic and not as alert as usual, symptoms of a sodium imbalance called hyponatremia.

A sodium imbalance can be life-threatening but Abernathy was responding well to treatment, Kaufmann said.