Queen guitarist Brian May has revealed the news that he is recovering following a recent heart attack and follow-up surgery procedure.
The 72-year-old rocker – who made headlines following what was described as “a gardening accident” earlier this month – updated fans on the fallout from that situation in a new Instagram post and companion video.
"I told you that I had a ripped muscle,” May begins. “Now that was the way I was diagnosed and we thought it was like a bizarre gardening accident….But, anyway, it turned out to be not really the case.” While an MRI confirmed the muscle tear, May continued to experience significant back pain; a second MRI revealed a compressed sciatic nerve, which has been resolved through therapy.
"But in the middle of it, the rest of the story is a little more bizarre and a bit more shocking," May continues. "Well I was shocked anyway. I thought I was a very healthy guy and everyone says you've got a great blood pressure, you've got great heart rate and everything and I keep fit on me bike and everything - good diet = not too much fat.
“Anyway I had a, in the middle of the whole saga of the painful backside, I had a small heart attack and I say small, you know. It's not something that did me any harm. It was about 40 minutes of pain in the chest and tightness and that feeling in the arms and sweating and, you know, you kind of know, you've heard and, actually this is a heart attack, and cut a rather long story short, my wonderful doctor drove me to the hospital himself in his Corniche, and I went straight into what they called the 'Cath Room', I think, and had an angiogram. Now that's the thing where they stick something in your wrist here and it goes all the way up to your heart and it can go into the arteries of your heart and find out what's wrong and it can find out in a way that nothing else can - it seems to me, you know - nothing else can tell you what the angiogram can tell you.”
Explaining that “there was a lot of pressure because I actually turned out to have three arteries which were congested and in danger of blocking the supply of blood to my heart", doctors gave the Queen legend the option of a triple-bypass open heart surgery, or, the installation of three stents that would keep the arteries open.
“I opted for the stents and the next day, actually the same day, I went in there and they did it,” says May. “When I came round, it was as if nothing had happened. I couldn't feel that they'd been in here. I couldn't feel anything and I still can’t. It's been amazing.”
“I have this feeling that like everybody from the age of 60 onwards should have an angiogram whether they have any problems or not, because there's the only thing that can tell you,” he adds. “I had no idea. I had great electrocardiograms and whatever. You know nothing could tell me that I was about to be in real, real trouble because I could have died from that, from the blockages that were there.
“I think there's some lessons to be learned I must say, and I think we've all got to really look at ourselves as we get to the kind of later - to the Autumn years - and what seems to be a very healthy heart may not be and I would get it checked if I were you. I think I will get it checked from time to time now but I'm very grateful.
“I'm incredibly grateful that I now have a life to lead again and it's one of those things, you know. I was actually very near death because of this, but the pain that I had was from something completely different - funny how things work - but I'm good. I’m here and I'm ready to rock and God bless you all.”
May added: “Sheer Heart Attack eh ? Well, I think I always worried a little bit about that album title. I wondered if it might upset some people who had actually had heart attacks. I’m actually quite relieved now that I’m in that club - and I don’t find it upsetting at all! Take. care folks.”
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