Arnold Schwarzenegger in ‘fantastic’ condition following heart surgery

According to Variety, the 73-year-old actor, politician announced his recovery via Twitter on Friday afternoon (local time) with a photo from his hospital bed and noted that he's been walking the streets

Washington: Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger ‘feels fantastic’ after undergoing heart surgery to replace an aortic valve the second time that he’s had heart surgery in the past two years.

According to Variety, the 73-year-old actor, politician announced his recovery via Twitter on Friday afternoon (local time) with a photo from his hospital bed and noted that he’s been walking the streets of Cleveland following the operation. He did not disclose when the surgery took place.

Schwarzenegger said, “Thanks to the team at the Cleveland Clinic, I have a new aortic valve to go along with my new pulmonary valve from my last surgery. I feel fantastic and have already been walking the streets of Cleveland enjoying your amazing statues. Thank you to every doc and nurse on my team!” As per Variety, in 2018, Schwarzenegger underwent surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles to replace a pulmonic valve that was originally changed in 1997 due to a congenital heart defect. At the time, his spokesman said the 1997 replacement valve was never meant to be permanent and had outlived its life expectancy.

“I’m back,” Schwarzenegger said immediately after awakening from the 2018 procedure, invoking his trademark catchphrase for his ‘Terminator’ character.

Schwarzenegger, who served as governor of California from 2003-2011, subsequently returned to the ‘Terminator’ franchise for the sixth film in the series, ‘Terminator: Dark Fate,’ which was released last year and took in USD 261 million in the worldwide box office.

When he became governor, Schwarzenegger put his acting career on hold. He returned to star in all three ‘Expendables’ action movies as Trent ‘Trench’ Mauser along with 2015’s ‘Terminator Genisys,’ ‘The Last Stand,’ ‘Killing Gunther,’ and ‘Aftermath.’  In August, he announced plans to star in and executive produce an hourlong spy series in the works at Skydance Television.