Barbara Walters To Have Heart Surgery

Barbara Walters says she will have surgery later this week to replace a faulty heart valve.

The television legend made the announcement Monday, May 10, 2010, on ABC's "The View," which she co-hosts. Walters said she's known about her condition for a while and thought the time was right for the surgery because she can take the summer off and "can come roaring back in September."

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Walters is 80. She's one of television news' best-known personalities, admired by fans for her interviews. She started the daytime talk show "The View" in the 1990s and it became a durable hit.

Asked by co-host Whoopi Goldberg if she is scared, Walters said: "Look, nobody wants to have this kind of surgery."