Arnold Schwarzenegger has dedicated his life to bodybuilding and fitness. The passion that bodybuilding ignited in him as a teen still burns at 76, as Arnie regularly goes to Gold’s Gym. After his bodybuilding career, Arnie even served as the chairman of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition. However, even the fitness icon has a few bad habits and has had his fair share of health scares.

Probably the most significant threat to the Austrian’s health reared its head in 1997. Schwarzenegger found that he had a heart condition and needed surgery. The aortic valve of the Governator’s heart had a defect. However, when the time came, Schwarzenegger chose not to tell anyone about the surgery, not even his then-wife Maria Shriver.

Why did Arnold Schwarzenegger hide the news from everyone?

In his 2012 autobiography, Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story, the bodybuilding icon, elaborated on his decision. “No one knew. Not my mother, my nephew, my kids, or anybody,” the Austrian Oak wrote. The first reason Arnie hid the life-and-death situation was because it eased his anxiety.

Schwarzenegger’s surgeon, Dr. Vaughn Starnes, said using an artificial valve would degrade Arnie’s quality of life. Hence, Starnes wanted Arnie to have an organic valve, but the risk of failure was high. However, despite the risk, Schwarzenegger didn’t say a word.

“I didn?t even want to tell my wife,”?Schwarzenegger revealed in his 2012 book.?“Maria was in the middle of a difficult fourth pregnancy, and I did not want her to be upset,”?he added. Yet, this wasn’t the only reason.?“She had a tendency to blow things up into high drama, even things that were not life and death,”?states the former champion.

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However, when the doctor said Arnie would need his family’s help to recover, Arnie had to tell Shriver. While she did react exactly how Arnie thought she would, Shriver kept the secret to herself and didn’t tell anyone in the family. However, you might wonder why someone so dedicated to fitness could have a heart issue. Schwarzenegger had an answer.

It wasn’t something the Austrian Oak could control

The True Lies actor found out he had a heart condition when he was 31. In the 1970s, during one of her springtime visits, Schwarzenegger’s mother fell sick. When the champion bodybuilder took her for a checkup, doctors found she had a defect in her aortic valve.?“They checked me too and found out that I shared the defect,”?Arnie wrote.

After the diagnosis, the actor continued to star in action blockbusters and remained healthy for two decades. After the valve began to fail in 1997, Arnie got it replaced. However, despite Arnie’s instance, his mother didn’t. She died from a heart attack in 1998.

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While Maria Shriver did have a dramatic reaction, she respected her then-husband’s decision and it between them.