Barbara Walters Announces Heart Surgery

Barbara Walters is facing a medical drama. She announced on The View that she's having heart surgery.

"Later this week, I'm going to have surgery to replace one faulty heart valve," she said.

The 80-year-old TV legend says she's known about the heart problem for several months, but kept it secret. She informed her co-hosts on The View moments before the show started.

Walters didn't reveal too many details of her condition, but cardiologist Dr. Nieca Goldberg says a valve replacement is a major procedure.

"If someone has a severely narrow valve and they don't have surgery, that can cause them to faint, collapse, have a heart attack, or have heart failure," Dr. Goldberg tells INSIDE EDITION. "If a really active 80-year-old person is functioning and working and has a full life, generally the outcome is very good."

Walters says she's going to take the summer off to recuperate. Her co-host Whoopi Goldberg asked her if she was she scared.

"Well, am I scared? Nobody wants to have this kind of surgery, it's not elective," said Walters.