Queen's Brian May reveals 'stomach explosion' almost killed him

28 September 2020, 10:43

The guitarist suffered a heart attack earlier this year and has said his recovery has felt like a "a long climb back".

Brian May has opened up about his recovery from the 'small' heart attack he suffered earlier this year.

Back in May, he revealed to fans that angiogram results showed he had three arteries that were "congested and in danger of blocking the blood to my heart".

The guitarist didn't opt for open heart surgery, but instead had three stents put in and felt "immediately better" when he came round.

In a recent interview with The Times, the 73-year-old has opened up about his health battle, telling the publication that his recovery has felt like "a long climb back".

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"I've had complications due to the drugs I'm on, one of which was a stomach explosion that nearly killed me," he revealed.

"The heart attack was a symbol of an arterial disease, but I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't have high cholesterol and I was exercising through the tour, so why did it happen?"

But he added: "At least I now have a heart that is working far better than it was."

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May was recovering from a ripped muscle he injured while gardening when the heart attack occurred.

He shared the bizarre series of events that led to his hospitalisation at the end of May on Instagram, telling fans: "I had – in the middle of the whole saga of the painful backside – I had a small heart attack.

"I say small, it's not something that did me any harm. It was about 40 minutes of pain in the chest and tightness. It's that feeling in the arms and sweating."

The guitarist said he was "very near death" and urged anyone over the age of 60 to have an angiogram, as "what seems to be a very healthy heart may not be".

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After sharing the news with his followers, May was met with a "torrent of love and support".

"I'm really more than touched by the torrent of love and support that's come back at me after the incredible coverage in the press, I really didn’t expect all that," he said in an Instagram post.

"I will never ever be able to thank you all individually, so let me please at least thank you here. It’s just unbelievable."