Arnold Schwarzenegger had open-heart surgery last week, but you wouldn’t know it considering the Governator was already mixing it up with Jane Fonda just a few days later. The FUBAR star made the announcement on the latest episode of his Arnold’s Pump Club podcast where he couldn’t resist making a Terminator joke.
“Last Monday, I had surgery to become a little bit more of a machine,” Arnold quipped. “I got a pacemaker.”
The actor has suffered from “genetic heart issue” that required him to get valve replacement surgery in 1997. He had another valve replacement surgery in 2019 that went sideways after doctor’s accidentally nicked his heart wall, which Arnold has admitted was one of the most terrifying moments of his life. Scar tissue from that incident led to his most recent surgery and the installation of a pacemaker.
Via People:
“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 continued. “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.
Despite the near-death experience in 2019, Arnold has nothing but respect for his physicians. The actor takes his heart condition seriously and always listens to his doctor’s advice following the death of his mother in 1998. She refused to get valve surgery for a similar condition, and Arnold vowed to not make the same mistake.
“I could have kept it a secret. But I know that we have more than 750,000 subscribers now — the village is a city now — and a lot of you are probably dealing with your own health challenges,” Arnold 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.”
(Via People)