Barbara Walters to undergo heart surgery

NEW YORK - Broadcast journalist/author Barbara Walters has announced that she will be undergoing surgery to replace a faulty heart valve later this week.

Walters, 80, who has hosted television shows, revealed the news as she kicked off “A Day of Hot Topics” on her daytime show, “The View” on May 10.

“I’m going to have surgery to replace one faulty heart valve,” the New York Daily News quoted her as saying.

Walters said she has known about the problem for a while but had decided, with the support of her doctor, to wait to take care of it.

“Since the summer is coming up, I can take a nice vacation,” she said.

Walters said she expects her recovery to take at least a month but plans “to be calling in from time to time”.

“I don’t think I’m really scared. I’m glad it’s going to be over with,” she added. (ANI)