Arnold Schwarzenegger Nearly Died Due to Heart Surgery Mistake

He's had a few heart surgeries, and now Arnold Schwarzenegger reveals that his most recent one nearly killed him. The 76-year-old action icon discussed his third open-heart surgery in a new video. He says the procedure’s unexpected problems had him “really freaking out.” Just before filming Terminator 6 in 2019, the former California governor said when he woke up all of a sudden during the valve replacement surgery, the doctors in front of him said, "'I'm so sorry, but it was unlike what we planned, which was non-invasive surgery. We made a mistake and poked through the heart wall, and therefore we had to stop [the] bleeding.' They had to open me up very quickly and to save [my] life."

While chuckling at the "great news," Schwarzenegger added, "I mean, Jesus." Despite the surgical mistake, he had no choice but to accept it because "you cannot roll the clock back. It's a disaster. I was in the middle of a disaster." So how did the former professional bodybuilder get through it? He shifted gears. In the video, he says, "You collect yourself, shift gears, and say: 'OK, what I need to do now is I got to get out of this hospital, number one.'" Showing footage of himself walking with a walker to regain his strength and lung health, Schwarzenegger said he "looked like an idiot waddling around the hallway."

The FUBAR star said he was eager to get out of the hospital so he could start training again. Three months later, he needed to be ready to shoot Terminator 6. Crediting his positive attitude, knowing exactly how he was going to get there, and his support system, Arnold said he was "all back together again" in time for the movie.