Arnold Schwarzenegger Shares Details About ‘Unplanned Open Heart Surgery’ Due To A Medical Mistake

In a new video posted to his YouTube channel, Arnold Schwarzenegger, 76, is reflecting on the time in his life when he had to have “unplanned” open heart surgery in 2018.

The actor and former California governor talked about a frightening incident where he was undergoing non-invasive surgery, which got a lot more serious after a surgical mistake.

“I remember when I had my open heart surgery, my third one… I was really freaking out, and I woke up all of the sudden and the doctor was standing in front of me, and saying ‘I’m so sorry, but unlike what we planned, a non-invasive surgery… we made a mistake and poked through the heart wall, and there was internal bleeding, and we had to open you up to save your life,” Schwarzenegger said.

Schwarzenegger recalled that he had to “shift gears” during this time and realized the biggest priority was to be healthy enough for a hospital discharge. He started by walking at least ten steps after getting up in the morning. The actor had his friends come into the hospital to help motivate him.

Schwarzenegger also had to start filming Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) in three months. Due to the role, he had to be in the best shape as soon as possible. The actor showed behind-the-scenes footage featuring him in the hospital and behind-the-scenes footage of Terminator 6.

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Reflecting on bouncing back from the surgical mistake, Schwarzenegger was proud of his effort.

“And I did it! Because I had a positive attitude and knew exactly how I was going to get there,” he explained. “[And] I had the support system because none of this we can do by ourselves… When I started shooting Terminator 6, I was all back together again.”

This wouldn’t be Schwarzenegger’s last heart surgery – he had to go through another procedure in 2020.