Ray Romano reveals that he had a stent put in his heart: 'I had 90% blockage'

At 65, Everybody Loves Raymond alum Ray Romano is still active, but, like the rest of us, he has dealt with health issues.

"Man, saying 50 was weird, but saying 60. … It sounds foreign, it sounds fake, ya know?" he said on Monday's edition of the WTF With Marc Maron podcast. "I know in my head I don't feel that old. In my body, I'm getting a couple of notices that I am that old."

Romano, the writer, director and star of the new movie Somewhere in Queens, and Maron have known each other for decades; during their time together they talked about some of the physical struggles they've faced with aging.

Romano revealed that he had "just had to have a stent put in" his heart, because "I had 90% blockage" in "the main artery."

He added, "I got kinda lucky that we found it."

For years, the comedian said, he and his physician had gone through a cycle.

"I had high cholesterol 20 years ago, and my guy always told me, 'Why don't we start going on the statins?'" he said of the drugs often prescribed to reduce cholesterol and reduce risk of heart attack and stroke. "And every time, I said, 'Let me do it myself.' And I would go home, and I would eat right. Not vegan, but a little healthier, and get it down a couple ticks."

But then he would revert to his old ways. After the recent wake-up call, Romano is taking a different approach. Eating healthy all the time was too hard to sustain.

"So, of course, then I’m on the meds, and my cholesterol dropped right away," Romano said. "If I could go back 20 years ago, I would've went on the meds, ya know?"

Maron noted that he's pre-diabetic, and Romano said he is, too.

"I was just gonna tell you. Here's the kicker: so I'm on the meds, and it's got me all down now, so I figure now I can enjoy and eat some food," Romano said. "My sugar level's up now."

The actor-director told Entertainment Tonight earlier this month that he had chest pains while working on Somewhere in Queens, which arrives in theaters Friday. That is what motivated him to see his cardiologist.