UPDATE: Schwarzenegger is said to be recovering well from the surgery, and his first words after waking up were reportedly “I’m back.”
Beloved action star Arnold Schwarzenegger underwent emergency open-heart surgery at Cedars-Sinai. This followed complications during a replacement of his catheter valve - a procedure that is somewhat experimental.
Born in Austria and immigrating to the United States at the age of 21, Schwarzenegger was held up by many as the quintessential example of the American Dream made reality. An athletic youth, Schwarzenegger chose to focus on bodybuilding over soccer and soon found himself winning awards at professional competitions, becoming the youngest Mr. Universe ever at the age of 20. He had dreams of following in the footsteps of his idols Steve Reeves and Reg Park - bodybuilders who had gone into acting. Schwarzenegger would go on to surpass his boyhood idols, first finding fame as Conan The Barbarian before being cast as the killer robot in The Terminator. Though most famous for his action roles, Schwarzenegger showed tremendous versatility, playing against his tough-guy image in comedies such as Twins (where he and diminutive actor Danny DeVito played twin brothers) and the action-satire True Lies. He later got into politics, serving two terms as the Governor of California.
TMZ broke the story on Schwarzenegger’s surgery, which occurred Thursday. Thankfully, doctors were prepared for the possibility that the valve replacement might fail and were ready to perform the surgery at a moment’s notice.
This is not the first time that Schwarzenegger has undergone heart surgery. He underwent a replacement of his aortic valve in 1997, despite his doctor’s advice that the procedure was not necessary at that point. Reportedly Schwarzenegger decided to undergo the surgery while he was younger, citing a family history of congenital heart problems and a far greater likelihood of complications developing with heart surgery performed on older patients.
Heart problems are also incredibly common among professional bodybuilders, along with a loss of mobility, kidney failure and liver problems, due to the stress that they frequently place themselves under. Thankfully, the most recent reports state that Arnold Schwarzenegger is in stable condition following the surgery, which lasted for several hours. We at Screen Rant would like to join action fans everywhere in wishing Arnold a speedy recovery and hope that “he’ll be back” in action soon.
More: Arnold Schwarzenegger Confirms Terminator 6 Summer Start Date
Source: TMZ
