Queen guitarist Brian May reveals he suffered a stroke
Queen guitarist Brian May has revealed he recently suffered a stroke which left him without control of one arm.
Earlier this year, Queen concluded a run of dates across Japan with Adam Lambert, but currently have no further shows in the calendar, allowing May with plentiful time to make a full recovery. The 77-year-old guitarist described the incident as a “minor stroke”, and he has now been placed under strict medical orders from a doctor.
May took to Instagram on September 4th to reveal news of the health scare, and began with a positive update, telling fans, “I’m here to bring you first of all some news, I think. The good news is that I can play guitar after the events of the last few days.”
The guitarist continued: “I say this because it was in some doubt because that little health hiccup happened about a week ago. What they called it was a ‘minor stroke’.”
The Queen founder then recalled the incident and the effect it had on his body, revealing, “All of a sudden, out of the blue, I didn’t have any control over this arm, so it was a little scary. I had the most fantastic care and attention from Frimley Hospital; blue lights flashing the lot, very exciting.”
May then said that he’s stayed silent on the matter because he didn’t want “sympathy” from fans and wanted to focus solely on making a recovery.
He concluded by sharing the orders he’s been told to follow by medics, stating, “But the good news is I’m ok and doing what I’m told which is basically nothing, I’m grounded, I’m not allowed to go out, drive, get on a plane, I’m not allowed to raise the heart rate too high. But I am good.”
At this stage, it’s unknown how long it will take May to make a full recovery, and if he’ll be able to play live again. Nevertheless, the fact that he’s regained his ability to play the guitar is a positive sign, but touring is off the table while May is unable to travel or participate in activities that could possibly raise his heart rate.
What is a minor stroke?
According to the NHS, a minor stroke is also known as a transient ischaemic attack. They say that the symptoms may “resolve in a few minutes or hours, you’ll need treatment to help prevent another TIA or a full stroke happening in the future.”
One of the three symptoms relates to the loss of control of an arm, as May suffered. The NHS say that a major sign of a transient ischaemic attack is when a “person may not be able to lift both arms and keep them raised because of weakness or numbness in 1 arm.” The other main symptoms are issues with the face or speech.
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