Bret Michaels scheduled for heart surgery

Wonderwall, Monday, January 24, 2011, 11:05am (PST)

PHOENIX (AP) — Rocker Bret Michaels is set to undergo a procedure Monday to close a hole in his heart. A surgical team at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix will perform the procedure.

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Doctors in April treated Michaels for a brain hemorrhage, and it was at that time that doctors discovered the hole in his heart.

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The hospital says Michaels will undergo a cardiac catheterization during which doctors will insert a catheter into a vein in the groin and guide wires and a closure device into the heart with cameras assisting doctors as they operate to close the hole.

The closure device will remain in Michaels' heart permanently to stop abnormal blood flow between the two chambers of the heart, which is thought to have caused the warning stoke he suffered.

Doctors say that without the procedure, Michaels risks developing blood clots and an additional stroke.

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