Arnold Schwarzenegger almost died during open heart surgery

Arnold Schwarzenegger has revealed he almost died during heart surgery back in 2018, after suffering internal bleeding.

The actor and bodybuilder shared the shock news during a candid YouTube clip recently shared with fans. 

Schwarzenegger, 76, said doctors were operating on him in a ‘non-invasive’ surgery to replace a valve when it turned to open heart surgery and they ran into some trouble in the operating theatre.

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“My third one [heart surgery], I was really freaking out,” he recalled.

“And doctors said, ‘I’m so sorry, but unlike what we planned, which was non-invasive surgery to go up to the heart and replace the valve, we made a mistake and poked through the heart wall and there was internal bleeding and we had to open you up quickly to save your life.’

“And I was like, ‘Geezus’. I was in a middle of a disaster. I needed to shift gears.”

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He also revealed in the YouTube clip and on his Arnold’s Pump Club podcast that he was forced to use a walker while recovering from the major surgery in hospital.

Schwarzenegger said he was telling his story to help motivate fans to work on their health and fitness.

“I don’t love seeing myself with the walker. But I want you to know that even if you think you’re too old, too out of shape, or too unhealthy, we all have times when we have to start from nothing,” he admitted on the podcast.

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“And I want you to know that even though you see me as Mr. Universe and the Terminator, I’ve also had to start from scratch.

“No one had ever seen video of me during this time. But I shared it with my little app village two weeks ago to help inspire a few of our users who were worried about coming back from their own surgeries,” he said.

“And now, I’m sharing it with you.”

Schwarzenegger said after the surgery, he focused on breathing exercises to help his lungs as doctors told him heart surgery patients are at a high risk of getting pneumonia.

”Then, there were walks around the nursing station. Eventually, I went home and walked around my property,” he said about slowly building up his fitness after the surgery.

“Eventually, my doctors cleared me to add weight, and I was ready to film Terminator 6 three and a half months later with no limitations.”

Schwarzenegger is best known for films including The Terminator franchise, Commando and Twins.