Rosario Monachino
Miriam Margolyes has been forced to undergo major heart surgery.
The Harry Potter star, 82, has been in the movie industry for 60 years – having starred in films such as Babe and Romeo + Juliet.
She has received plenty of praise and recognition throughout her career, including a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence.
Margolyes has now provided fans with a health update after undergoing a major procedure.
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The Mulan actress has shared on the Table Manners podcast with Jessie and Lennie Ware that she underwent a procedure called transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).
According to the British Heart Foundation, this is a common procedure that improves the blood flow in your heart by replacing an aortic valve that doesn’t open fully.
It was originally used as an alternative method to heart valve surgery for people who weren’t well enough for open heart surgery.
However, it is now used for people at lower risk of complications from heart surgery – research suggests it’s at least as effective as heart valve surgery after one year.
Speaking on the podcast, Margolyes explained: “I’ve got a cow’s heart now. Well, not the whole heart. I’ve had an aortic valve replaced by a cow’s aortic valve.”
When Jessie asked her how common the surgery is, Margoyles said that she had ‘never heard’ of it but it meant that she didn’t have to have open-heart surgery – which she says would be ‘infinitely more invasive’.
Margoyles then explained to the presenter how the surgeons did the operation.
The Little Shop Of Horrors actress said: “They made two little holes in your groin. One in each groin and then they shoved this thing through.
“And I don’t know how they pull it up but they sort of pull it up with stereos. And then when it comes to the point, when it’s in your heart, they pull a little string and it goes pow!
“And lo and behold, your artery or your aortic valve is shoved unceremoniously to the side.”
Margoyles first addressed the procedure when she appeared as a cover star for British Vogue, in which she posed nude for the magazine.
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In the interview with the publication, Margolyes shared that she had an ‘unexpected issue’ and had been rushed to the hospital.
She revealed that it would mean she would need to have a heart stent fitted so she could continue with her work.
Elsewhere in the interview, the Blackadder actress also shared her views on death, saying that she used to fear it – but now she won’t let it get in the way of her trying ‘new experiences’.
“When you’re young, you never think about death. You just think about your next f*** basically. I think about death a lot,” Margolyes remarked on the matter.
“You can’t help but be aware that the amount of time ahead is less than the time before you.
“I’m still ducking and diving. I’m still open to new experiences. I’m just very conscious that there is no light at the end of the tunnel.”
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