Arnold Schwarzenegger Says 'I'm Back' Following Emergency Open-Heart Surgery

Arnold Schwarzenegger is breaking his silence following his recent medical scare.

On Monday, April 2, 2018, the Terminator star took to Twitter to update concerned fans on his condition after undergoing emergency open-heart surgery late last week.

"It's true: I'm back!" the 70-year-old actor wrote. "I went to sleep expecting to wake up with a small incision and woke up with a big one — but guess what? I woke up, and that's something to be thankful for. Thank you to the doctors & nurses. And I'm truly filled with gratitude for all of the kind messages."

As Nicki Swift previously reported, Schwarzenegger experienced complications during a catheter valve replacement procedure on Thursday, March 29, at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles. This forced doctors to perform emergency open-heart surgery, which reportedly lasted several hours.

The following day, the former Governor of California's spokesperson, Daniel Ketchell, confirmed that the actor was in stable condition. 

"Yesterday, Governor Schwarzenegger underwent a planned procedure to replace a pulmonic valve that was originally replaced due to a congenital heart defect in 1997," he released in a statement via Twitter. "That 1997 replace valve was never meant to be permanent, and has outlived its life expectancy, so he chose to replace it yesterday through a less-invasive catheter valve replacement."

Ketchell continued, "During that procedure, an open-heart surgery team was prepared, as they frequently are in these circumstances, in case the catheter procedure was unable to be performed." Adding that the pulmonic valve had been "successfully replaced," he revealed that the action star was "recovering from the surgery and is in stable condition."

Later that day, he updated fans again, tweeting, "@Schwarzenegger is awake and his first words were actually 'I'm back,' so he is in good spirits."

Following his elective 1997 operation, Schwarzenegger had stated, "Choosing to undergo open-heart surgery when I never felt sick was the hardest decision I've ever made. I can now look forward to a long, healthy life with my family" (via CNN).

At the time of this writing, Schwarzenegger's family, including his wife, Maria Shriver, have yet to publicly comment on his recent surgery.