(Liberty University photo)

Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Junior revealed today he recently underwent a new and rarely-performed procedure to repair a hole in his heart. Falwell said he learned about the procedure from Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson when Carson, a noted neurosurgeon, addressed Liberty’s College of Osteopathic Medicine graduation ceremonies in May:

Falwell told LUCOM students today he had weathered two minor strokes and decades of migraine headaches — and the mirgraines, he says, have not returned since the procedure was performed. The procedure is known as a “transcatheter suture closure of a patent foramen ovale.” Falwell is one of about 150 patients in the U.S. on which it has been performed.