Arnold Schwarzenegger has revealed he’s had a pacemaker fitted in the past week, after having three open heart surgeries in the past.
The Terminator star has joked he now has a ‘machine part’ in his body just like his iconic character. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he’ll have to take a break from hitting the gym now he has his pacemaker. The movie star revealed the health update on his podcast, Arnold’s Pump Club on Monday. The celebrity has been open about his experiences with fans multiple times over the years.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has pacemaker fitted and likes to give courage to others
76-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger said: “Last Monday, I had surgery to become a little bit more of a machine: I got a pacemaker.
“I have to tell you, just saying this to all of you goes against so much of my upbringing in Austria, where nobody – ever – talked about medical issues. Everything related to healthcare was kept to yourself.
“But I’ve gotten so many messages and emails from people who were born with a bicuspid aortic valve, like me, telling me that talking about my valve replacement surgeries has given them courage and hope to deal with their own.
“So, since I know that going against my secretive instinct and being transparent helps people, what choice do I have?”
Arnie reassured concerned fans he recovering well and his health comes first.
The movie star added: “First of all, I want you to know I’m doing great!
“I had my surgery on Monday, and by Friday, I was already at a big environmental event with my friend and fellow fitness crusader Jane Fonda.
“By the way, when we talk about exercise being the only magic pill to slow down aging, look at Jane. She’s ten years older than me, turning 87 this year!
“Nobody would ever have thought I started the week with a surgery.
“I want to thank my whole team at the Cleveland Clinic. All of the doctors and nurses took amazing care of me and made the surgery as painless as possible.”
He added: “They also advised me that it was time to go through with this because some scar tissue from my previous surgery had made my heartbeat irregular.
“It had been like that for a few years, so I stayed in touch with my medical team and visited in person at least once a year to get a full check-up and see how my heart was doing.
“That’s life with a genetic heart issue. But you won’t hear me complaining.”
Arnie’s previous heart surgeries
The Hollywood star underwent elective heart surgery to replace a defective, congenital aortic heart valve in 1997. He then had his aortic valve replaced in 2020, to go with his new pulmonary valve he had in 2018.
When there are issues with the aortic valve, it can disrupt blood flow and force the heart to work harder to send blood around the body. It helps keep blood flowing in the correct direction through the heart too, writes WebMD.
Arnold previously said: “I had my valves replaced for the first time in 1997, which required open-heart surgery. They told me both valves would last 12 to 15 years. Dr. Starnes did a wonderful job, and they made it 21 years, so by the time I went in for replacement in 2018, the non-invasive option was available.
“Of course, you know that there was a little screwup at the hospital in Los Angeles, and my non-invasive surgery became open-heart. I told that story and shared footage here in this newsletter.
He went on: “They only replaced one of the two valves, so I headed to the Cleveland Clinic in 2020 and did the other one. This time, the non-invasive Transcatheter valve replacement worked!”
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