Arnold Schwarzenegger Released From Hospital After Open-Heart Surgery

After a week of fans holding their breath, action movie icon Arnold Schwarzenegger was released from a Los Angeles hospital on Friday.

Daniel Ketchell, Schwarzenegger’s spokesperson, confirmed the The Terminator actor had left via Twitter.

He then followed up with a email press release.

“The spokesman, Daniel Ketchell, said in an email that the 70-year-old ‘Terminator’ actor and former California governor is ‘home and doing incredibly well.’” Page Six reported.

Schwarzenegger underwent the surgery on March 29, as a pulmonic valve he originally had surgically installed in 1997 for a congenital heart defect had to be replaced.

Unfortunately there were complications during the procedure, and the 70-year-old had to be rushed into open-heart surgery. He was reportedly in stable condition within hours of the procedure.

Ketchell wrote on Twitter that Schwarzenegger was already in good spirits when he initially woke up, with his first words being “I’m back.”

“Yesterday, Gov. Schwarzenegger underwent a planned procedure at Cedars-Sinai [Medical Center] to replace a pulmonic valve that was originally replaced due to a congenital heart defect in 1997,” Ketchell wrote at the time. “That 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.”

“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,” Ketchell continued. “We want to thank the entire medical team for their tireless efforts.”

Schwarzenegger made his official return to social media on Monday, thanking the doctors for their work and his fans for their support.

It’s true: I’m back! I went to sleep expecting to wake up with a small incision and woke up with a big one – but guess what? I woke up, and that’s something to be thankful for.”

“Thank you to the doctors & nurses. And I’m truly filled with gratitude for all of the kind messages,” he then added.

Even Sylvester Stallone, Schwarzenegger’s one-time rival and now good friend, never doubted the former Mr. Universe would make a full recovery.

“Arnold’s a strong man. He’ll be back better than ever,” Stallone said on March 30.

Schwarzenegger’s upcoming project, a sixth installment in the Terminator franchise, was reportedly pushed back four months to November 2019 by its studio, Paramount Pictures on Friday. Variety reports that the move was not made because of Schwarzenegger’s condition.