Get ready for Live with Kelly.
Regis Philbin announced Monday during his morning chatfest that he is gearing up to undergo triple heart bypass surgery later this week, effectively putting him out of hosting commission for an indefinite amount of time.
"Well, listen, I gotta tell you something...I had been feeling chest pains, you know, and, uh, shortness of breath and all those little symptoms that you hear about," the 75-year-old TV vet said at the start of his show.
Philbin said that he had undergone several tests with different doctors and that the consensus was "there's some plaque in some arteries and I've got to get it cleaned out."
But that doesn't mean he's a willing patient.
"Darn it, I don't want to do it," he said. "Nobody wants to do it, I guess. And I had a second opinion, I did all those things, and so they're all in agreement that it should be the bypass. And so that's what I'm gonna do."
Philbin said that he was holding out hope that he would be able to have the less invasive angioplasty as "you know, you get it—bang, bang, bang—they blow it open and you leave the next day."
This won't be the first time Philbin's needed some ticker tinkering. In 1993, he successfully underwent an angiogram, in which a catheter and dye are inserted into the heart to make sure it's functioning properlyy.
In 2000, Philbin was both the guest on the Late Show when host David Letterman revealed he himself would be undergoing quadruple-bypass surgery and the guest the night Letterman returned to hosting duties five weeks later.
There's also no word on how long Philbin plans to be out or who his temporary replacement—or, more likely, replacements—will be. Experts say his age could affect the rapidness of his recovery.
A heart bypass is usually undergone when one or more of the arteries leading to the heart is dangerously blocked with plaque. During the procedure, which usually takes anywhere from four to six hours, the heart is stopped, the blocked artery replaced—typically with one removed from the patient's leg—and the new and improved heart is then restarted.
The recovery time typically ranges from between one to two months.
Philbin said he'll come back "when I'm ready." Live sidekick Kelly Ripa has already offered her bedside services to aid in his recoup time.
"My primary job will be, like it or not, get your pills ready—your sponge-bath nurse," she said.
Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Philbin replied: "Why don't you give me a quick dip before I go?"