Getty
Arnold Schwarzenegger.
- Arnold Schwarzenegger underwent an open-heart surgery on Thursday and is currently in stable condition, his spokesman confirmed to The Washington Post.
- Schwarzenegger, 70, underwent a planned procedure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Thursday to replace a pulmonic valve, when complications arose and he required an "emergency" open-heart surgery, as TMZ first reported.
- The actor and former California governor's surgery on Thursday was previously had an elective heart surgery in 1997, at the age of 49, to replace the same valve.
Arnold Schwarzenegger underwent an emergency open-heart surgery on Thursday and is currently in stable condition, his spokesman Daniel Ketchell confirmed to The Washington Post.
Schwarzenegger, 70, first underwent a planned procedure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Thursday to replace a pulmonic valve. Complications arose in the valve replacement, and he required an "emergency" open-heart surgery, as TMZ first reported.
Ketchell confirmed the report to The Post but downplayed the seriousness of the emergency surgery, saying that open-heart surgeons are "frequently" on hand for this particular procedure, and that "Governor Schwarzenegger's pulmonic valve was successfully replaced."
Schwarzenegger's representatives did not immediately respond to a request for further comment from Business Insider.
The actor and former California governor previously had an elective heart surgery in 1997, at the age of 49, to replace the same valve, which resulted from a congenital condition.
"I've never felt sick or had any symptoms at all, but I knew I'd have to take care of this condition sooner or later. I said to the doctors, 'Let's do it now, while I'm young and healthy.' They agreed this was the way to go," Schwarzenegger said of the surgery 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," Ketchell told The Post on Friday.