Arnold Schwarzenegger stable post open-heart surgery

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger, who underwent a heart surgery this week, is now stable. His spokesperson, Daniel Ketchell, wrote on Twitter, that the 70-year-old "underwent a planned procedure to replace a pulmonic valve that was originally replaced due to a congenital heart defect in 1997."

"Schwarzenegger is awake and his first words were actually 'I'm back', so he is in good spirits," Ketchell tweeted. "That 1997 replace valve was never meant to be permanent and has outlived its life expectancy, so he chose to replace it through a less-invasive catheter valve replacement surgery," he said. "During the procedure, an open-heart surgery team was prepared, as they frequently are in these circumstances, in case the catheter procedure is unsuccessful."

He added Schwarzenegger's pulmonic valve was "successfully replaced" and that the star "is currently recovering from the surgery and is in stable condition. We want to thank the entire medical team for their tireless efforts."

Schwarzenegger, a former governor of California, is best known for his roles in Conan the Barbarian (1982), True Lies (1994) and The Terminator series (1984).

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