Arnold Schwarzenegger, 76, shares FIRST photo since getting pacemaker ... trends now

Arnold Schwarzenegger looked fit as a fiddle in a new Instagram picture - the first public image of him since he had his pacemaker installed.

Three days earlier, the Terminator star revealed on his podcast that he had a pacemaker fitted last Monday after previously having three open heart surgeries.

He declared on the episode that he now has a 'machine part,' just like his Terminator character, and has said he will have to take a break from the gym.

Now, on Thursday, he posted a picture of himself with his shirt open, revealing a 'DANGER: HIGH VOLTAGE' dynamite timer jokingly attached to his chest.

In his caption, he warmly expressed his gratitude to his fans for the 'kind messages' that have poured in after acquiring his pacemaker.

'Thank you!' wrote the True Liars actor. 'I’ve gotten so many kind messages from all over the world, but a lot of people have asked if my pacemaker will cause any problems with FUBAR Season 2. Absolutely not. I will be ready to film in April, and you can only see it if you’re really looking for it,' he quipped.

He said on his podcast Arnold's Pump Club, released on Monday: 'Last Monday, I had surgery to become a little bit more of a machine: I got a pacemaker.

'I have to tell you, just saying this to all of you goes against so much of my upbringing in Austria, where nobody — ever — talked about medical issues. Everything related to healthcare was kept to yourself.

'But I’ve gotten so many messages and emails from people who were born with a bicuspid aortic valve, like me, telling me that talking about my valve replacement surgeries has given them courage and hope to deal with their own.

'So, since I know that going against my secretive instinct and being transparent helps people, what choice do I have?'

Arnold reassured his fans that he is recovering well, saying: 'First of all, I want you to know I’m doing great!

'I had my surgery on Monday, and by Friday, I was already at a big environmental event with my friend and fellow fitness crusader Jane Fonda. 

'By the way, when we talk about exercise being the only magic pill to slow down aging, look at Jane. She’s ten years older than me, turning 87 this year! Nobody would ever have thought I started the week with a surgery.

'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.

He continued; 'They also advised me that it was time to go through with this because some scar tissue from my previous surgery had made my heartbeat irregular. 

'It had been like that for a few years, so I stayed in touch with my medical team and visited in person at least once a year to get a full check-up and see how my heart was doing.

'That’s life with a genetic heart issue. But you won’t hear me complaining.'

Arnold had his aortic valve replaced in Cleveland, Ohio in 2020, to go with his new pulmonary valve that he had inserted in April 2018 in LA. 

In 1997, he underwent elective heart surgery to replace a defective, congenital aortic heart valve.

When the aortic valve is not working properly, 'it can interfere with blood flow and force the heart to work harder to send blood to the rest of the body'. 

According to webmd, 'Aortic valve repair and aortic valve replacement are procedures that treat diseases affecting the aortic valve, one of four valves that control blood flow through the heart.'