Queen's Brian May reveals he was recently rushed to hospital after suffering minor stroke: "The good news is that I can play guitar"

Queen's Brian May has revealed that he recently suffered a minor stroke.

In a new social media post partly to promote Brian May: The Badgers, The Farmers and Me, his new documentary that explores the UK's badger-culling policies, the legendary guitarist, 77, shares details of his recent health scare which left him unable to move one of his arms.

He says: "I'm here to bring you, first of all, some good news, I think. The good news is that I can play guitar after the events of the last few days.

"I say this because it was in some doubt, because that little health hiccup that I mentioned happened about a week ago - what they called it was a minor stroke. And all of a sudden, out of the blue, I didn't have any control over this arm. So it was a little scary, I have to say."

Speaking of how he was rushed to Frimley Park Hospital in Camberley, Surrey, he continues, "I had the most fantastic care and attention from Frimley Hospital; blue lights flashing the lot, very exciting.”

Detailing the reason behind why he did not want to alert the public to the situation at the time, May explains: “I didn’t wanna say anything at the time because I didn’t want anything surrounding it, I really don’t want sympathy. Please don’t do that, because it’ll clutter up my inbox, and I hate that. The good news is I’m OK.”

Though the guitarist is feeling better, he notes how he has been instructed by health care practitioners to not do anything that will cause stress.

“I’m ok and doing what I’m told, which is basically nothing,” he says. “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.”

Back in 2020, May was rushed to hospital after suffering a "small" heart attack caused by an arterial disease. The scare came as a shock to the musician, as it made him realise he wasn't as healthy as he thought; three of his arteries were "congested and in danger of blocking the supply of blood to my heart".

Earlier this year, Queen & Adam Lambert signed off from a trek across Japan, and have currently have no further tours scheduled this year.

Watch May's update below:

A post shared by Sir Brian May (@brianmayforreal)
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Liz manages Louder's social media channels and works on keeping the sites up to date with the latest news from the world of rock and metal. Prior to joining Louder as a full time staff writer, she completed a Diploma with the National Council for the Training of Journalists and received a First Class Honours Degree in Popular Music Journalism. She enjoys writing about anything from neo-glam rock to stoner, doom and progressive metal, and loves celebrating women in music.