Arnold Schwarzenegger Reveals He Got A Pacemaker And Jokes That He “Became A Little Bit More Of A Machine”

Arnold Schwarzenegger is opening up about a recent medical procedure he underwent.

In the most recent installment of his Arnold’s Pump Club podcast, The Terminator himself broke the “personal news” of his operation, revealing that “last Monday, [he] had surgery for a pacemaker, and became a little bit more of a machine,” per People.

Noting that this announcement “goes against so much of [his] upbringing in Austria, where nobody ever talked about medical issues,” he’s realized that “going against [his] secretive instinct and being transparent helps people.”

“First of all, I want you to know I’m doing great!” he exclaimed, adding that “by Friday, [he] was already at a big environmental event with [his] friend and fellow fitness crusader, Jane Fonda.”

“Nobody would ever have thought I started the week with a surgery,” he shared.

He expressed his gratitude to his team at the Cleveland Clinic, praising “all of the doctors and nurses [who] took amazing care of [him] and made the surgery as painless as possible.” He highlighted that “they also advised [him] that it was time to go through with this because some scar tissue from [his] previous surgery had made [his] heart beat irregular[ly].”

“It had been like that for a few years, so I stayed in touch with my medical team and visited in person at least once a year to get a full check-up and see how my heart was doing,” he shared. “That’s life with a genetic heart issue. But you won’t hear me complaining.”

He also opened up about his family’s struggles with heart conditions, noting that his “mother and her mother’s bicuspid [aortic] valves killed them.”

“And I’m still here because of medical innovation and being very diligent about staying in touch with my doctors and listening to them,” he noted. “My mom refused to have the valve replacement surgery, but back then, the only option was open-heart. Today, they’re replacing valves with non-invasive procedures where you can go home the same day.”

He recalled having his valves replaced “for the first time” in 1997, “which required open-heart surgery,” and where he was told “both valves would last 12-15 years.” They ultimately “made it 21 years,” and he returned for a replacement in 2018, when “the non-invasive option was available.”

In September, he revealed in a YouTube video that doctors had “made a mistake” during what was supposed to be the “non-invasive surgery,” requiring him to undergo his third open-heart surgery in 2018 just prior to filming Terminator: Dark Fate.

Fast forward to 2023, where he had his “normal check-up at the beginning of March.” He eventually received a call from one of his doctors, who after reviewing his “results and data” and “knowing [he] had six weeks until it was time to film FUBAR Season 2, ” told him that with respect to the pacemaker, “it was time to go for it.”

While he claimed he could’ve kept this news to himself, he ultimately decided to reveal the update to his numerous fans and subscribers to show his support for those navigating their own health issues.

“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.”