Arnold Schwarzenegger said this week he had a pacemaker installed following three open-heart surgeries.
The 76-year-old action star revealed the surprise health news on an episode of Arnold’s Pump Club podcast.
“Last Monday, I had surgery to become a little bit more of a machine: I got a pacemaker,” the “Terminator” star announced.
Arnold Schwarzenegger attends The Wall Street Journal’s Tech Live Conference at Montage Laguna Beach on October 16, 2023 in Laguna Beach, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for The Wall Street Journal)
“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,” he said. “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.
Schwarzenegger underwent surgery to replace his pulmonic and aortic valves in 1997. He had follow-up surgeries for new replacement valves in 2018 and 2020, according to Deadline.
He said on the podcast he’d developed an irregular heartbeat and monitored it closely.
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“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,” he said. “That’s life with a genetic heart issue. But you won’t hear me complaining.”
He explained he had the pacemaker installed shortly after a checkup earlier this month in which his doctor said he’d need it if he wanted to be healthy enough to act in upcoming projects.
“I can’t do my serious training in the gym for a while, but I will be 100% ready,” Schwarzenegger said.
“I want you to know you aren’t alone. And if you’re putting something off out of fear, I hope I inspire you to listen to your doctors and take care of yourself,” he advised listeners.