I had the opportunity to review the article written by John Connolly on Arnold Schwarzenegger. I would like to comment on the medical facts in this article.

As my patient, Mr. Schwarzenegger underwent open-heart surgery in 1997 for a congenitally acquired condition, meaning he was born with a bicuspid valve. His condition was not obtained by the use of steroids. The natural history of these valves is that they deteriorate over a 40-year time span. Mr. Schwarzenegger’s valve was calcified like every other valve I have removed with this condition. His valve was replaced with two (2) human valves and not four (4) pig valves, as stated in the article.

At the time of surgery and after his recovery, Mr. Schwarzenegger, in my opinion, was in excellent health. There were no other problems noted with his heart during the surgical procedure. His outlook is excellent, with the expectant duration of this valve to be far in excess of [what was] quoted for a pig valve.

— Vaughn A. Starnes, M.D.,
Hastings Professor and Chairman, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Southern California