Brian May says he nearly died from ‘stomach explosion’ after heart attack

Queen guitarist was admitted to hospital in May this year

Brian May has described recovery as a “long climb back” after suffering a heart attack earlier this year.

The Queen guitarist previously said that he was “very near death” after being admitted to hospital in May. Doctors discovered that three of his arteries to be blocked and in danger of stopping the blood supply to his heart.

“It is a long climb back,” May, 73, told The Times of his health. “I’ve had complications due to the drugs I’m on, one of which was a stomach explosion that nearly killed me.”

May, who still performs with Queen + Adam Lambert, admitted that he had been baffled by the heart attack, which was a symptom of an arterial disease.

“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?”, he questioned. “At least I now have a heart that is working far better than it was.”

May (left) still performs with Queen + Adam Lambert (Getty Images)

May initially told fans about the incident after admitting to ripping his buttock muscles while gardening.

“In the middle of the whole saga of the painful backside, I had a small heart attack,” he said.

“I say small – 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.”

May said he turned down open heart surgery and instead opted to have three stents put in.