Arnold Schwarzenegger undergoes heart surgery

On Friday, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hollywood star and American politician, underwent a “planned” open heart procedure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.

The heart procedure was “to replace a pulmonic valve that was originally replaced due to a congenital heart defect in 1997”, according to Daniel Ketchell, his representative.

Ketchell said the two-time California governor is recovering from surgery and is in stable condition.

He said Schwarzenegger’s 1997 replacement valve “was never meant to be permanent, and has outlived its life expectancy”.

“Yesterday, Governor Schwarzenegger underwent a planned procedure at Cedars-Sinai… he chose to replace it[pulmonic valve] yesterday through a less invasive catheter valve replacement,” he said in a statement.

“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.

“Governor Schwarzenegger’s pulmonic valve was successfully replaced and he is currently recovering from the surgery and is in stable condition. We want to thank the entire medical team for their tireless efforts.”