Arnold Schwarzenegger almost died when doctors ‘made a mistake’ and poked hole in heart during surgery

Arnold Schwarzenegger has revealed how he came close to death when doctors 'made a mistake' during heart surgery.

While he might seem like one of the most indestructible human beings on the planet, it seems Arnie really is just as human as us mere mortals - and he's got one hell of a story to prove it.

The 76-year-old recently recalled the terrifying experience in a YouTube video for The Pump, delving into his third open heart surgery.

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The former governor of California explained how he was set to begin filming 2019’s Terminator: Dark Fate - the sixth installment of the Terminator franchise - a few short months after the surgery, so his goal was to 'shift gears' and figure out how to get out of the hospital as quickly as possible.

“I remember when I had my open heart surgery, the third one, which was just a few years ago just before we started Terminator 6," the actor said.

“I was really freaking out. I woke up and all of a sudden the doctors were in front of me saying, ‘I’m so sorry, but it was unlike what we planned'."

Schwarzenegger went on to explain how what was supposed to be a simple non-invasive procedure became more complicated when his medical team 'made a mistake and poked through the heart wall'.

YouTube/The Pump

Ouch.

This, obviously, resulted in the doctors having to open him up very quickly to stop internal bleeding, which could have proven fatal.

“The bottom line is, you cannot roll the clock back. It was a disaster. I was in the middle of a disaster,” Schwarzenegger added.

“So now, how do I get out of it? You have to shift gears. Collect yourself, shift gears and say, ‘OK, what I need to do now is get out of this hospital.'”

But like any pro athelete and actor, Schwarzenegger was keen to get back up and running, with him recalling: “I even called my buddies in and I said, ‘You guys have to fire me up'."

Footage then shows the action star making his way through the corridors with friends and family.

“I looked like an idiot waddling around in the hallways, but the bottom line was I was getting going because the doctors said you have to exercise your lungs because if you get pneumonia you can die."

In typical Arnie fashion, he was able to recover in time to begin preparation for filming, explaining: “I wanted to get really going with the exercise, get out of the hospital as quick as possible, and then get going with the training again.

"I had to be in shape, I had to move around, run around, lift things up, do the fight scenes.”