Queen guitarist Brian May survives heart attack: 'I could have died from that'

Queen guitarist Brian May revealed that he had a "very near death" experience after suffering from a heart attack.

In an Instagram video, he detailed his recent series of health issues starting from a compressed sciatic nerve — mistakenly diagnosed as a ripped gluteus maximus — that caused him "real agony."

It was in the "middle of the saga of the painful backside" that he had a "small heart attack."

 

 

 

 

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Hmm ... 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. And ... why did those discs in my spine get so squished? Well I think 50 years of running around with a guitar strap over my left shoulder holding a heavy guitar might have something to do with it ! But it probably WAS all worth it ! Bri

A post shared by Brian Harold May (@brianmayforreal) on

May 24, 2020 at 7:42pm PDT

"I say small, it's not something that did me any harm, it was about 40 minutes of pain in the chest," he said.

His doctor fetched and drove Brian to the hospital himself where he had an angiogram.

Results show that he had three congested arteries that were in danger of blocking his heart.

Brian was given two options: he could undergo an open heart surgery during which they would perform three bypasses, or get a stent placement.

"After a lot of thought and deliberation, I opted for the stents," he said.

When he came in for the procedure, something else went wrong — he was experiencing "excruciating pain" in his leg.

"They had to kind of put me out in the end because I was writhing about and pulling my tubes out because the pain was so bad in my leg," he shared.

"But when I came around, it was like nothing had happened. I couldn't feel that they've been in here and I still can't, it's been amazing," he added.

The 72-year-old musician said he walked out with a "heart that's very strong now."

The whole experience taught him a lesson: that he should be more mindful of his health, because "what seems to be a very healthy heart may not be."

He said he'll have his checked from time to time now.

"Nothing could tell me that I was about to be in real, real trouble, because I could have died from that," he said.

"I'm very grateful that I now have a life to lead again. I was actually very near death because of that," he added. "I'm good, I'm here and I'm ready to rock."

Brian was a co-founder of Queen, which was formed in 1970. To this day, he is the lead guitarist of the iconic band.

In 2014, he underwent a series of "urgent tests" sparked by fears he could have cancer.

—JCB, GMA News