Wrestling Legend Vader Scheduled for Heart Surgery

Former WWE and WCW legend, Vader, is slated for heart surgery on Tuesday.

The 62-year old tweeted the news himself Monday evening. While we don’t have the specifics of the procedure, “heart surgery” is all we really need to know.

In the fall of 2016, Vader revealed he’d been diagnosed with congestive heart failure and was given two years to live.

Vader’s bomber diagnosis came after a car accident that left him unconscious for 35 minutes. In an interview with Hannibal TV, Vader shared the conversation between him and his doctor.

“I was in the medical center and I was seeing my doctor, who is actually an MD, and heart specialists came into my room. They said ‘We’ve been looking at your heart’ and I said ‘Who are you?’ I didn’t recognize the guy. He said ‘You have two years to live. We’ve been looking at your heart, and that’s the deal,’” recalled Vader.

However, Vader isn’t buying stock in the two-year prognosis. In fact, he told Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling in 2017 that he’s doing his best to defy doctors orders. To the former World Champion, things are still normal, if not exceptional.

“I remember getting very angry and said this has gotta be bulls–t because I don’t feel bad and I remember getting extremely angry,” he said. “Since that time and when I got the news I left the hospital and went right to the gym and rode the bike for a half hour. Hard. As hard as I could and when I got off the bike and got on the treadmill and walked for another 15 minutes pretty hard and I was exhausted but my heart felt fine so how can I do that if my heart is going to give out?”

Regardless of doctors orders, Vader still wrestles. His last appearance came in Japan, where he’s a folk hero, in 2017. So even if Vader’s time is limited, he’s doing his best to live a regular life.

We’ll have an update for you once Vader gets out of surgery.