Elizabeth Taylor to have heart surgery

Dame Elizabeth Taylor has revealed that she is to undergo heart surgery.

The actress made the announcement yesterday to the followers of her Twitter page.

Taylor said: "Dear Friends, I would like to let you know before it gets in the papers that I am going into the hospital to have a procedure on my heart.

"It's very new and involves repairing my leaky valve using a clip device, without open heart surgery, so that my heart will function better."

She added: "Any prayers you happen to have lying around I would dearly appreciate. I'll let you know when it's all over. Love you, Elizabeth."

Last year, Taylor's publicist said that rumours regarding the star's health were "dramatic, overstated and untrue" after she was admitted to hospital following reports that she had suffered congestive heart failure.