- Arnold Schwarzenegger underwent heart surgery on Thursday and was in stable condition as of Friday, his spokesman told The Washington Post.
- Schwarzenegger, 70, underwent a planned procedure to replace a pulmonic valve, though TMZ reported that complications arose and he required an "emergency" open-heart surgery.
- The actor and former California governor previously had an elective heart surgery in 1997, at the age of 49, to replace the same valve.
Arnold Schwarzenegger had heart surgery on Thursday and was in stable condition as of Friday, his spokesman Daniel Ketchell confirmed to The Washington Post.
Ketchell said on Twitter that Schwarzenegger, 70, underwent a planned procedure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles to replace a pulmonic valve. He said the valve was "successfully replaced."
TMZ, which first reported the surgery, said complications arose in the valve replacement and Schwarzenegger required an "emergency" open-heart surgery, though Ketchell did not appear to confirm that in his statement on Twitter. The Post said he "noted that an open-heart surgery team was on hand during the procedure, but downplayed its seriousness."
Schwarzenegger's representatives did not immediately respond to a request for further comment from Business Insider.
The actor and former California governor previously had an elective heart surgery in 1997, at the age of 49, to replace the same valve, which resulted from a congenital condition.
"I've never felt sick or had any symptoms at all, but I knew I'd have to take care of this condition sooner or later," Schwarzenegger said in 1997. "I said to the doctors, 'Let's do it now, while I'm young and healthy.' They agreed this was the way to go."
Ketchell told The Post on Friday that the 1997 replacement valve "was never meant to be permanent, and has outlived its life expectancy, so he chose to replace it yesterday through a less-invasive catheter valve replacement."
