Arnold Schwarzenegger stable after having heart surgery for failed valve

Arnold Schwarzenegger joked with medical staff as he woke up from emergency heart surgery, following a failed valve replacement procedure.

The actor, 70, had a scheduled procedure to replace a valve at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles on Thursday, his spokesman has confirmed.

However, according to reports on TMZ, the procedure – described as “experimental” – hit some complications, and he required “hours” of open heart surgery.

Now, the Austrian-American movie star’s spokesman has confirmed he’s awake, and said he even quoted his famous Terminator character to doctors, saying: “I’m back”.

Daniel Ketchell tweeted: “@Schwarzenegger is awake and his first words were actually “I’m back”, so he is in good spirits.”

Arnie initially had the valve replaced in 1997, following a congenital heart defect, and Ketchell said that one was “never meant to be permanent”, and has now “outlived its life expectancy”.

Update: @Schwarzenegger is awake and his first words were actually “I’m back”, so he is in good spirits. https://t.co/bJ4pxqS8l6

— Daniel Ketchell (@ketch) March 30, 2018

He reportedly chose not to have a mechanical valve at the time, as it could disrupt his exercise regimes – which he still enjoys.

In his biography, Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story, he admitted he initially hid the procedure from his ex-wife Maria Shriver.

“I have been in denial all my life,” Schwarzenegger told the Express at the time. “I was in denial when I had to have heart surgery.”

He added: “My grandmother and mother died from the same thing. I came home (from the operation) and started cycling.”

His latest procedure, the catheter valve replacement, was planned as it’s “less-invasive”. While Ketchell didn’t confirm if there were complications, he added: “[His] pulmonic valve was successfully replaced and he is currently recovering from the surgery, and in a stable condition.”

A transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement (TPVR) is used as an alternative to mechanical valve replacement surgery.

It’s designed for people who are more at risk during surgery, and have issues with the valve blocking blood flow between the heart and lungs.

The symptoms of pulmonary heart valve issues can often go unnoticed, and include fatigue, arrhythmia and breathlessness.

Schwarzenegger has made a name for himself as one of the toughest guys in Hollywood and politics, but he’s remained fairly open about his private battles in the past.

Read more: Arnold Schwarzenegger has opened up about his painful struggle

The former body builder, and later politician, previously opened up about an issue most of us can admit to struggling with: body image.

While the whole world watched on in awe as Arnold won championship after championship in the 60s and 70s, Arnold said he was beating himself up thinking his body wasn’t good enough.

“When I look in the mirror, I throw up,” he told magazine Cigar Aficionado.

Do you know anyone who has had a similar procedure to this?