Arnold Schwarzenegger has revealed he had a pacemaker installed after enduring three open-heart surgeries in as many years.

Schwarzenegger, 76, said he underwent the surgery last week, saying he wanted to inspire people to check their own heart-health with their doctors.

“I know a lot of you are probably dealing with your own health challenges and I want you to know you aren’t alone,” Schwarzenegger said on his podcast Arnold’s Pump Club.

“Last Monday, I had surgery to become a little bit more of a machine: I got a pacemaker.”

“If you’re putting something off out of fear, I hope I inspire you to listen to your doctors and take care of yourself.”

The device was implanted, Schwarzenegger said, after doctors noticed scar tissue from previous surgeries he had for a genetic heart condition called bicuspid aortic valve.

“I want to thank my whole team at the Cleveland Clinic. All of the doctors and nurses took amazing care of me and made the surgery as painless as possible.

The Terminator star, bodybuilder and former Governor of California said he was recovering well from the procedure.

“Nobody would ever have thought I started the week with a surgery,” he said, adding that filming for his Netflix show FUBAR would continue as planned.

“I can’t do my serious training in the gym for a while but I will be 100 per cent ready for FUBAR next month.”

Earlier this year Schwarzenegger was briefly detained by German customs officers at Munich Airport for allegedly failing to declare a valuable luxury watch.

Schwarzenegger was on his way to Austria for a charity auction in which he planned to sell the watch to benefit climate initiatives, according to the climate initiative that he founded.

Austrian-born Schwarzenegger was eventually able to continue on his journey, said a spokesman for the main customs office in Munich.

He was also able to take the watch with him.

Criminal tax proceedings had been initiated against Schwarzenegger, a world-champion bodybuilder and action film star who also served two terms as governor of California.

According to the customs authorities, Schwarzenegger did not declare a valuable luxury watch upon arrival in Munich, although he apparently planned to leave it in the European Union.