Berlusconi to have heart surgery

Berlusconi’s personal doctor, Alberto Zangrillo, told reporters on Thursday that the 79-year-old billionaire businessman will be ‘‘better than before” after the four-hour surgery, which will take place before the middle of next week.

The 79-year-old will undergo surgery by the middle of next week to replace a defective aortic valve, Alberto Zangrillo told reporters in Rome. Picture: AP.Source:AP

Mr Berlusconi, who has a pacemaker, reported heart irregularities on Sunday f-rom Rome and Mr Zangrillo advised him to return to Milan to be checked.

Dr Zangrillo said a team of doctors at Milan’s San Raffaele clinic ran a battery of tests and diagnosed a serious case of aortic insufficiency, which describes the leaking of the aortic valve of the heart causing blood to flow in the reverse direction.