Harry Potter star Miriam Margolyes, 82, reveals she’s undergone heart surgery

British actress Miriam Margolyes has opened up about her health issues, revealing she underwent major heart surgery.

Harry Potter star Miriam Margolyes has revealed she has had major heart surgery.

The 82 year-old has told how she underwent a procedure called transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), reports The Sun.

Miriam opened up about her health issues on the Table Manners podcast with Jessie and Lennie Ware.

The This Morning regular said: ‘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 singer Jessie asked if that was quite a common thing, Miriam joked: “I think it’s rather refined, actually!”

She continued: “I don’t know how common it is. I’d never heard of that operation. But it saves you from having open heart surgery, which would be infinitely more invasive.”

Miriam Margolyes has revealed she has undergone heart surgery.

Miriam went on to explain the incredible technique doctors used to perform the operation.

She revealed: “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!

Margolyes attends the world premiere of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 in 2011 in London. Picture: Ian Gavan/Getty Images

“And lo and behold, your artery or your aortic valve is shoved unceremoniously to the side.”

Miriam sparked concern back in May when she was rushed to hospital with a chest infection.

She updated fans on social media with a snap of her on the ward.

Miriam Margolyes with Maggie Smith and Richard Harris in Harry Potter.

Sharing a photo of her in a hospital gown from her bed, she said: “Thanks to my precious friends who thought of me on Tavi Day. I did survive and I am still in The Royal Brompton Hospital certainly till Sunday.

“I am growing energy but it’s still not quite me.”

The hilarious star later told Vogue that she may have to go under the knife, following the “unexpected” health issue.

She revealed: ‘When you’re young, you never think about death. You just think about your next f**k basically. I think about death a lot.”

This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission