Larry King became a crusader for heart disease awareness after a heart attack in 1987. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

In 2010, Barbara Walters had surgery to repair her aortic valve that had become "tighter and smaller." (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Barneys New York)

Bill Clinton was diagnosed with heart disease in 2004 and underwent a quadruple bypass surgery to clear his blocked arteries. (Photo by Paul Drinkwater/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

Regis Philbin experienced typical heart disease symptoms, including chest pains and shortness of breath, and underwent bypass surgery in 2007. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for Exploring The Arts)

Dick Cheney

Dick Cheney suffered a series of three heart attacks beginning in 1978, when he was 37 years old. He underwent quadruple heart bypass surgery in 1988. (Photo by Ben Sklar/Getty Images)

Toni Braxton was diagnosed with pericarditis, inflammation of the tissue surrounding the heart, in 2004. Then, just before "Dancing with the Stars," (2008) she came down with a new heart problem: microvascular angina. (Getty Images For Lupus LA)

Elizabeth Taylor died of congestive heart failure at age 79. In addition to congestive heart failure, Taylor had surgery in 2009 to fix a leaky heart valve. (Photo By Getty Images)

In 2009 Robin Williams had three-hour heart surgery to replace his aortic valve, repair his mitral valve, and correct his irregular heartbeat. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

David Letterman underwent quintuple-bypass surgery in January 2000, after an angiogram showed a significant arterial blockage around his heart. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for IRC)