Brian May reveals hospital dash after heart attack

Queen guitarist Brian May has revealed he suffered a ‘small heart attack’ after previously recalling landing in hospital following a gardening incident that saw him tear a muscle in his bottom.

Previously sharing a snap from a wheelchair, as he described the pain he continued to endure, the iconic rocker has now shared an update on his health.

Amid the enduring pain which he linked to the tear in his gluteus maximum, the 72-year-old – who is now fighting fit and ‘ready to rock’ – suffered a ‘small heart attack’ and had to undergo an operation to install three stents.

While speaking about the backside injury, he explained: ‘But in the middle of it, the rest of the story is a little more bizarre, a bit more shocking, well I was shocked because I thought I was a pretty healthy guy and everyone says “You’ve got great blood pressure, you’ve got a great heart rate”.’

He continued in a video posted to Instagram: ‘I keep fit with biking, I’ve got a good diet, not too much fat, but anyway, in the middle of the whole saga of the painful backside, I had a small heart attack.’

The musician added: ‘I say small, it’s not something that did me any harm, it was about 40 minutes of pain in my chest and tightness and that feeling in the arms, and sweating, you kinda know, you’ve heard, “is this a heart attack?’’’

Saying his doctor drove him to the hospital himself, Brian was seen straight away for an angiogram (a type of X-ray used to examine blood vessels) to find out what was wrong.

He continued: ‘They looked at me, and said, “Brian, I’m sorry this is a little more complicated than we thought…”’

Taken to a hospital where he was seen as an emergency patient, it was confirmed he had three arteries ‘which were congested and in danger of blocking the supply of blood’ to his heart.

Brian said some felt he needed to have open heart surgery and a triple bypass, however others said that if he had three stents put in he could walk either that night or the following day.

After some deliberation he oped for the stents.

‘I thank them from the bottom of my heart,’ he said of doctors, adding: ‘I think I’m in good shape for some time to come.’

Brian said: ‘I didn’t die, I came out and I would have been full of beans if it wasn’t for the leg…I’ve just got the point where the leg is liveable.’

Having to take severe painkillers following the tear, he’s now off the meds and is urging followers to get their heart checked.

‘I was very near death because of this, but the pain I had was from something completely different,’ he said. ‘But I’m good, I’m here, and I’m ready to rock.’

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