Hollywood action star and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has revealed that he underwent surgery last week to have a pacemaker implanted – the latest procedure addressing his genetic heart condition.
The 76-year-old bodybuilding icon shared the health update on his Arnold’s Pump Club podcast,
“Last Monday, I had surgery for a pacemaker and became a little bit more of a machine,” Schwarzenegger quipped, referencing his famous cyborg role in The Terminator films.
The pacemaker implantation was deemed necessary after scar tissue from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s past heart valve replacement surgeries caused an irregular heartbeat. The Austrian-born star has been extremely proactive about his heart health, undergoing multiple valve replacements since the 1990s to treat a congenital defect.
“I’ve gotten so many messages from people born with a bicuspid aortic valve like me, telling me that talking about my valve replacement surgeries has given them courage and hope,” Schwarzenegger explained about his motivation to go public this time.
True to his fighter mentality, the veteran actor achieved a swift recovery, attending an environmental event alongside fellow fitness advocate Jane Fonda just days after the procedure. “Nobody would have ever thought I started the week with a surgery,” he marveled.
While necessarily sidelining him from intense weightlifting for the time being, Arnold Schwarzenegger assured fans the pacemaker won’t slow his relentless work ethic, declaring he’ll be “100%” ready for filming the second season of his Netflix series FUBAR next month.
The former Mr. Universe champion’s openness about his heart journey stems from deep gratitude for receiving cutting-edge medical care that his family members lacked access to.
“My mother and her mother’s bicuspid valves killed them. I’m still here because of medical innovation and being very diligent,” he acknowledged.
