Former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick has spoken about the open-heart surgery he underwent in April 2026 to repair a bicuspid aortic valve, telling Rock From The Heart host Mike Preston that his recovery is "a testament to medical science". The 72-year-old musician had known about the congenital valve condition for roughly a dozen years after a routine physical revealed a heart murmur, but it was only after tests in late 2025 that doctors confirmed it had progressed to severe aortic stenosis requiring intervention.

Kulick explained that his cardiologist advised operating while he was still in good general health rather than waiting for his condition to deteriorate. Although a less invasive procedure called TAVR (Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement) was considered, a CT scan showed it would not be suitable for his particular case, and both his cardiologist and surgeon recommended traditional open-heart surgery instead, despite its typical two-to-three-month recovery period compared with just days in hospital for TAVR.