The former California governor underwent a planned procedure on a pulmonic valve originally replaced in 1997, his spokesman said

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Arnold Schwarzenegger had heart surgery in Los Angeles on Thursday, his representative has confirmed.

The former California governor and Terminator actor underwent surgery to replace a pulmonic valve, a spokesman, Daniel Ketchell, said in a statement.

Schwarzenegger originally had the valve replaced in 1997 to counter a congenital heart defect. Ketchell said Thursday’s operation was a planned procedure to replace that same valve.

“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,” Ketchell said.

The spokesman claimed Schwarzenegger’s first words upon waking from the operation were “I’m back”.

The celebrity news website TMZ had reported early on Friday that Schwarzenegger had undergone “emergency open-heart surgery”, sparking a wave of news coverage, but Ketchell said that although an open-heart surgery team had attended the operation, they were only there as a precaution.

“They frequently are in these circumstances, in case the catheter procedure was unable to be performed,” Ketchell said.

“Governor Schwarzenegger’s pulmonic valve was successfully replaced.”

Schwarzenegger, 70, was 49 when he had his first heart surgery.

“Choosing to undergo open-heart surgery when I never felt sick was the hardest decision I’ve ever made,” Schwarzenegger said at the time.

The actor, who served as governor of California from 2003 to 2011, has been most active recently in his role as a Donald Trump antagonist.

Schwarzenegger has criticized Trump over his response to the violence in Charlottesville – Trump defended far-right marchers – and over the president’s tax reforms.

In 2017, James Cameron, who wrote and directed the first two Terminator films, said Schwarzenegger had signed up to appear in a sixth Terminator movie. The film will be set in Mexico City, although it is not clear when it will be released.