Veteran US TV host Barbara Walters is to undergo heart surgery, the 80-year-old has revealed.

BBC: Barbara Walters

Before this study, it was unclear whether patients who are about to undergo heart surgery would also benefit if they took statins before the operation.

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Tricor did decrease heart attacks by a statistically significant 24%, and it made it less likely that patients would have to undergo heart surgery or angioplasty, a procedure in which balloons are used to unclog arteries.

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Broadcast journalist Barbara Walters announced this week on The View that she would be leaving to undergo a heart surgery, which would replace a faulty heart valve.

FORBES: Not Even Heart Surgery Stops Barbara Walters

Patients taking 80 milligrams of Lipitor were 16% less likely to die, have a heart attack, undergo bypass or angioplasty surgery, or develop worsening chest pain than those taking 40 milligrams of Pravachol.

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