Schwarzenegger’s Emergency Surgery

Arnold Schwarzenegger never squanders an opportunity for a killer one-liner. The former California governor and iconic actor is in stable condition after undergoing emergency heart surgery in L.A.

Schwarzenegger’s first words after waking from the procedure were “I’m back,” his spokesman Daniel Ketchell told The Washington Post, adding that “he is in good spirits.”

• The 70-year-old underwent a planned procedure Thursday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to replace a pulmonic valve previously replaced in 1997, Ketchell told The Post.
• “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.
• Schwarzenegger rose to prominence first as a body builder and Mr. Universe, and then for his roles in action movies like Terminator and Total Recall. The Austria native successfully ran for California governor as a Republican and served from 2003-2011.