Arnold Schwarzenegger Reveals He Had a Botched Open-Heart Surgery Which Left Him ‘Freaking Out'

Declan Gallagher
·2 min read

Arnold Schwarzenegger is opening up about a botched open-heart surgery that left him “in the middle of a disaster.”

The star of Netflix’s FUBAR recounted the story in a YouTube video. He underwent the procedure, his third open-heart surgery, just a few months before he started filming 2019’s Terminator: Dark Fate and recalled waking up surrounded by doctors. The physicians told him the “non-invasive” procedure “was unlike what we planned," and had caused internal bleeding.

“[They said] we made a mistake and poked through the heart wall and had to open me up very quickly and to save [my] life,” Schwarzenegger said. “I was really freaking out.”

The mishap resulted in an arduous recovery, footage of which Schwarzenegger included in the video. Daily activity was sometimes just walking down the hospital’s corridors, taking only 10 steps at first. “I looked like an idiot waddling around the hallway, but the bottom line was the doctor said you have to exercise your lungs because if you get pneumonia, you can die,” he recalled.

Schwarzenegger admitted the situation taught him “you cannot roll the clock back.” He recognized at the time that it was “a disaster,” but realized he had to focus on getting better rather than grousing about the botched operation. He credited his knowledge of exercise for his speedy recovery, along with his friends and family who saw him through.

“We did it. Because I had a positive attitude, I knew exactly how I’m going to there, [and] I had the support system. None of this we can do by ourselves. I had a whole support system, and it was fantastic. When I started shooting Terminator 6, I was all back together again.”

Schwarzenegger has recently segued into a wellness guru role. Earlier this year, he launched a newsletter focused on health and fitness. During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in May, the actor and entrepreneur discussed his feelings on aging. "My whole life I look at the mirror and see the best-built man, and all of a sudden I see a bunch of crap. It’s terrible! But you cope with it."

Saying that death "pisses him off," Schwarzenegger spurred any suggestion of slowing down: “There’s no retiring. I’m still on this side of the grass, so I’m happy. My plan is to live forever—and so far, so good!”