NEW YORK (AP) – Talk-show host Charlie Rose was scheduled to undergo heart surgery in Paris on Wednesday after experiencing shortness of breath last week while in Syria, a spokesman said.

Rose, the anchor and executive editor of PBS’ “The Charlie Rose Show,” was examined by cardiologists in Paris and, based on their evaluation, entered the Georges-Pompidou European Hospital on Saturday.

Rose is to undergo mitral valve repair, an open-heart procedure to treat narrowing or regurgitation of the valve, according to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons.

Spokesman Howard Rubenstein said he had talked with Rose on Tuesday. “He sounded real good,” Rubenstein said in an interview late Tuesday.

Rose, 64, was in Syria to interview Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Rose will recuperate in Paris after the surgery before returning to New York. His doctors expect him to be back at work by the end of April, according to a statement from Rubenstein.

In the meantime, Rose’s program will be hosted by journalists and foreign policy experts chosen by his staff, the statement said.

“The Charlie Rose Show” airs on more than 200 PBS affiliates around the United States.