Arnold Schwarzenegger opens up about nearly dying during heart surgery: 'I was in the middle of a disaster'

Virgin Radio

7 Sep 2023, 12:33

Hollywood superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger has revealed his terrifying experience during heart surgery after doctors found unexpected internal bleeding.

The film icon and face of Lidl power tools, 76, spoke about his health 'disaster' which happened shortly before he started filming his 2019 movie, Terminator: Dark Fate, while appearing in a new YouTube video for The Pump.

The Predator star, who was born with a congenital heart defect and has had three open heart surgeries, opened up about how he almost died after complications arose during surgery and unexpected internal bleeding was found.

"I was really freaking out. I woke up and all of a sudden the doctors were in front of me saying: 'I'm so sorry but it was unlike what we planned. We made a mistake and poked through the heart wall,' and had to open me up very quickly.

"The bottom line is, you cannot roll the clock back. I was in the middle of a disaster. So now how do I get out of it? You have to shift gears. Collect yourself, shift gears, and say: 'Okay what I need to do now is get out of this hospital.'"

The near-fatal trauma happened prior to filming Terminator, which he says helped spur on his determination to recover quickly.

The former California of governor said that his first step was to 'get out of bed and start walking' while in hospital.

He explained: “And then I called my buddies in and I said, you guys have to fire me up, you have to count the amount of steps I’m doing.”

Although he was encouraged by his loved ones during his vital small walks, he said he felt like he 'looked like an idiot waddling around in the hallways'.

“The bottom line was I was getting going because the doctors said you have to exercise your lungs because if you get pneumonia, you can die,” he said. “So I wanted to get really going with exercise, get out of the hospital as quickly as possible."

Focussed on his upcoming movie, he said: “I had to move around, run around, lift things up, do the fight scenes. So, we did it because I had a positive attitude, I knew exactly how I was gonna get there, I had the support system, because none of this we can do by ourselves.”

Fans commented: "The word inspiration is overused these days but that's exactly what you are for me and millions of other people. What a guy.

A second penned: "Arnie, you're such an inspiration to me. Not just because you're Arnold Schwarzenegger but because you're human and not afraid to show it and you're so positive and motivating and you not only interested in the fit people but those of us who are starting from scratch. Thanks."

A third praised: "Arnie you are a terrific role model to people recovering from or suffering from health issues, or just generally ageing (with a fair wind, it comes to us all). It isn't easy to be positive when the chips are down, but you continually demonstrate that it is the state of mind that is important. Be positive, be determined, grit your teeth, work through the pain and never give up. You are a modern day hero. Thank you from a small part of England."