Arnold Schwarzenegger in stable condition after heart surgery

Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger first words after undergoing heart surgery were “I’m back”. The 70-year-old actor is recovering and in a stable condition following the medical procedure in Los Angeles on Thursday.

His spokesman said the star made the jokey remark in a twist to his well-known “I’ll be back” catchphrase after waking up from the operation.


Daniel Ketchell said Schwarzenegger “is awake and his first words were actually ‘I’m back'”. Schwarzenegger had heart surgery to replace a valve that was originally replaced 20 years ago.

Ketchell said the original replacement pulmonic valve had outlasted its life expectancy. So the former California governor chose to have a less-invasive catheter valve replacement procedure.

The veteran action star went in for surgery in 1997 to replace an aortic valve. According to the American Heart Association, the valve closes off the lower left chamber of the heart that holds the oxygen-rich blood before it is pumped out to the body, and it opens to allow blood to leave the heart.

Earlier this week, the former California governor spoke to CNN about the changes in the Republican party, noting that its lack of diversity and ability to reach across the aisle are leading to decreased numbers.

“Since then the party has decreased and now has only a 26 percent popularity overall and so it is dying and I see it like the Titanic,” he said. “The only thing is that we don’t have to go under completely. We don’t have to wait for that moment. Let’s change and let’s go and be more open and go back to this kind of like big tent idea of Ronald Reagan.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger has been an occasional critic of the Trump administration and has a unique tie to the president as he took over for him after NBC’s brief revival of “Celebrity Apprentice.” In 2016 Arnold Schwarzenegger opened up about his past heart surgery in an interview with Graham Bensinger.