Arnold Schwarzenegger gets a pacemaker, becomes 'a little bit more of a machine'

Arnold Schwarzenegger recently underwent surgery, but he's already back.

On the "Arnold's Pump Club" podcast, the "Terminator" star and former governor of California, 76, shared that he had surgery for a pacemaker last Monday, joking that he "became a little bit more of a machine."

"I'm doing great," he said in the episode released Monday. "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."

Schwarzenegger said he was born with a bicuspid aortic valve, which according to the Cleveland Clinic is a congenital heart defect affecting the valve between the heart and the aorta. "Normally, your aortic valve has three cusps that regulate blood flow from your heart to your aorta," the Cleveland Clinic says. "But if you have a bicuspid aortic valve, you only have two cusps."

The "Predator" star explained he underwent open heart surgery in 1997 to have his heart valves replaced. More than 20 years later, he had open heart surgery again in 2018 to replace one of the two valves. The other was replaced in 2020.

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This latest procedure was necessary because scar tissue from Schwarzenegger's previous surgery made his heartbeat irregular, he said. "With all of those surgeries, my doctors told me it was more important than ever to stay on top of the situation, and I checked in all of the time, sharing heart rate information from home," Schwarzenegger shared, adding that his team watched his irregular heartbeat like "a hawk."

Recently, Schwarzenegger said his doctor told him it was time to get a pacemaker, and the actor joked this must have been because his medical team wants "many more seasons" of his Netflix show "Fubar."

Although Schwarzenegger can't do "serious training in the gym for a while," he said he resumed his normal work the same week as the surgery and "nobody knew anything," adding that he'll be "ready" to film "Fubar" next month.

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On the podcast, Schwarzenegger reflected that sharing information about his health "goes against so much of my upbringing in Austria, where nobody ever talked about medical issues." But he decided to ignore his "secretive instinct" after fans who were also born with a bicuspid aortic valve told him his previous surgery updates gave them "courage and hope." He also shared that his mother and grandmother's bicuspid valves "killed them" and that his mom "refused" to get valve replacement surgery.

"I know a lot of you are probably dealing with your own health challenges, and I want you to know you aren't alone," he said. "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."