The source confirmed a report on Thursday by the Corriere della Sera daily.
The 86-year-old had been treated in intensive care since Wednesday in a cardiac unit of Milan's San Raffaele hospital, after suffering breathing problems.
The billionaire media tycoon, who made his fortune from commercial television, has suffered repeated bouts of ill-health in recent years and had come out of the same hospital just last week.
His eldest daughter Marina Berlusconi and his brother Paolo Berlusconi visited him during the day, Italy's Ansa news agency reported.
Berlusconi's Forza Italia party is part of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing coalition although he does not have a role in government.
Berlusconi built Italy's biggest commercial television network and gained an international profile as owner of European soccer champions AC Milan before entering politics in 1994 when the previous political class was brought down by a corruption scandal.
His health has deteriorated and he had heart surgery in 2016 and has also had prostate cancer. He was repeatedly admitted to hospital over the past couple of years after contracting COVID-19 in 2020.
Berlusconi stepped down as prime minister for the last time in 2011 as Italy came close to a Greek-style debt crisis and weighed down by his own scandals, including his notorious "bunga bunga" parties.
He was returned to the Senate of the Italian parliament after a general election last September.
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