Chris Fountain, best known for playing Tommy Duckworth in Coronation Street shared a series of images and videos on his Instagram to let his fans know he is set to undergo heart surgery on Friday.
The ITV soap actor, who rose to fame as Justin Burton in Hollyoaks, was supported by his mum as Chris documented his journey to hospital.
Chris suffered a Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA) after a blood clot lodged in his brain and feared "life as he knew it" was over.
On Instagram he confirmed: "So the day's arrived. Just walking to hospital. Got the mother here for moral support. Here we go."
Chris then shared an image in a hospital bed ready for surgery before adding a video teasing his mum for being on her phone.
After undergoing a pre-op last month, Chris explained the operation he was due to have and said: "What they do is, go in through my groin, go up to my heart and put this thing through where the hole is and it leaves a metal umbrella and they pull it through, it leaves another little metal umbrella at the other side.
"Then my heart grows around it and hopefully, that should mean no more strokes and I'll have a little bionic heart.
"It's a little bit nerve-wracking as it's a heart procedure but apparently it's 99.9% successful I'll have to take it easy for a week or so after it's done. So yeah, we do a marathon and then we go to do a heart operation, as you do."
After suffering the mini stroke last August and spending five days in a London hospital, the soap actor has dedicated himself to raising awareness of the condition and last month he completed the London Marathon to raise money for the Stroke Association.
After completing the London Marathon last month, Chris thanked his supporters and said: "I DID IT!!!!!!! From having a stroke in august to running a sub 4 hour marathon. I am beyond proud of myself. THANKYOU to everyone who cheered, donated, ran with me and everything else in between. I’m so, so happy. Will never forget this feeling."
In 2003, Chris became a household name when he joined Hollyoaks as Justin Burton before swapping Chester for the cobbles and joining Coronation Street in 2010 as Tommy.
Follow Mirror Celebs on Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter and Facebook .
