Mr Hickey is facing charges after hundreds of tickets earmarked for team Ireland were confiscated from an alleged tout.
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After his arrest Mr Hickey, from Dublin, stepped aside from his positions as the International Olympic Committee member in Ireland, president of the European Olympic Committees and vice president of the Association of National Olympic Committees.
Mr Hickey was dramatically arrested at his Rio hotel on Wednesday morning.
Agents have seized more than 1,000 tickets that were being sold for high fees and allocated to the Olympic Council of Ireland.
Sports minister Shane Ross, who is in Rio and who met Mr Hickey at the weekend to discuss the ticket sales allegations, tweeted simply: “Shell shock here in Rio”.
In Brazil the authorities are criticised for the amount of time they are able to leave people locked up in police cells.
There was no indication from authorities how long Hickey will be held. There was no sign of Mr Hickey’s wife, Sylviane, at the hospital.
The minister also said the OCI would have to accept any inquiry carried out here.
A spokeswoman said they could not provide any update on a patient’s condition.
In a statement, the Olympic Council of Ireland have claimed they are aware of the arrest and will not comment until they have total clarity on the situation.
But Mr Ross added that his department needed to be very sensitive and they will do nothing to prejudice what is happening in Rio de Janeiro.
After his arrest Hickey, 71, began to feel ill and had to be taken to a hospital for medical treatment, from where he will be taken to testify.
Mr Hickey was questioned by police in Rio de Janeiro overnight.
“The allegation that a portion of the OCI’s family and friends tickets were being made available by PRO10 for general sale is utterly untrue and completely without any foundation”, the company said.
He is understood to be under investigation over his involvement in the irregular sale of Olympic tickets.
Irish Olympic president Pat Hickey was arrested at his hotel.
Asked if that included defending Mr Hickey too, Mr O’Brien replied: “Exactly, yes”.
Irish Olympic president Pat Hickey with IOC chief Thomas Bach.
If officials being arrested on ticket-scalping charges at an global sports event in Brazil sounds familiar that’s because it happened at the 2014 World Cup.
James Mallon, also an Irish-native, was arrested right at the Opening Ceremony while selling tickets on the sly.
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After those arrests, the Olympic Council of Ireland said it would investigate why some of its tickets were in their possession.
