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29 March 2024

Arnold Schwarzenegger 'thankful' after heart surgery

Photo: Bang

Published
By Bang

Arnold Schwarzenegger is "thankful" to have woken up after undergoing emergency open heart surgery last week.

The 70-year-old actor was admitted to hospital last week to have a catheter valve replaced, and after complications with the procedure, an emergency team of doctors were forced to perform emergency surgery on the star.

On Monday the former Governor of California took to Twitter to reveal that he was awake and well following the ordeal, and thanked medical staff for their life-saving work.

He wrote: "It's true: I'm back! I went to sleep expecting to wake up with a small incision and woke up with a big one - but guess what? I woke up, and that's something to be thankful for. Thank you to the doctors & nurses. And I'm truly filled with gratitude for all of the kind messages. (sic)"

Previously, his representative Daniel Ketchell had taken to social media to explain what had happened to the 'Terminator' star.

In a note posted in the form of a picture, he wrote: "Yesterday, Governor Schwarzenegger underwent a planned procedure at Cedars-Sinai to replace a pulmonic valve that was originally replaced due to a congenital heart defect in 1997.

"That 1997 replacement valve was never meant to be permanent, and has outlived its life expectancy, so he chose to replace it yesterday through a less-invasive catheter valve replacement.

"During that procedure, an open-heart surgery team was prepared, as they frequently are in these circumstances, in case the catheter procedure was unable to be performed.

"Governor Schwarzenegger's pulmonic valve was successfully replaced and he is currently recovering from the surgery and in a stable condition. We want to thank the entire medical team for their tireless efforts."

And the rep then took to Twitter again a few hours later to let fans know the 'Predator' actor was awake and in "good spirits".

He tweeted: "Update: @Schwarzenegger is awake and his first words were actually "I'm back", so he is in good spirits. (sic)"