Arnold Schwarzenegger Recovering After Undergoing Another Heart Surgery

Arnold Schwarzenegger
Han Myung-Gu/WireImage

The 73-year-old actor had previously undergone open-heart surgery in April 2018.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is on the mend. The 73-year-old actor and former California governor revealed on Friday that he had another heart surgery this week and is since recovering.

Schwarzenegger began by thanking the Cleveland Clinic team, adding, "I have a new aortic valve to go along with my new pulmonary valve from my last surgery."

"I feel fantastic and have already been walking the streets of Cleveland enjoying your amazing statues. Thank you to every doc and nurse on my team," he tweeted alongside photos of himself in his hospital bed and walking around the city.

The actor's last surgery was in March 2018. At the time, Schwarzenegger was initially scheduled to have the pulmonic valve that was put in during a 1997 procedure due to a congenital heart defect replaced. However, the less invasive procedure they had planned could not be performed and Schwarzenegger had to undergo open-heart surgery instead. Following his surgery, he continued to reassure fans that he was improving.

In a 2016 interview on In Depth With Graham Bensinger, Schwarzenegger opened up about the heart problems that run in his family, and recalled his fear upon undergoing his earlier life-threatening surgery.

The first time they tried to replace his valves "the surgery failed," he recalled, adding that the doctors had to do it again. "Now it gets very dangerous," Schwarzenegger explained. "To do two surgeries within 24 hours like that is like ...first they tell you there's a six percent chance you wipe out and now that doubles."

In the 2019 documentary The Game Changers, Schwarzenegger opened up about his bodybuilding days, diet and being healthier in his 70s than when he was a professional athlete.

Hear what he said in the video below.

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