Ex-NY mayor Ed Koch faces heart surgery

NEW YORK, June 17 (UPI) -- Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch will undergo surgery to replace a heart valve, his spokesman said.

George Arzt told the New York Post that the 84-year-old Koch checked into Columbia-Presbyterian for an angioplasty on Monday, however, his doctors decided that he instead required a full aortic valve replacement.

Koch, who suffered a heart attack 10 years ago, remains in good spirits. The former mayor is expected go under the knife late this week or early next week, the Post said Wednesday.

Koch was mayor of the Big Apple from 1978 to 1990.