Brian’s wife May offered him a cup of tea when she mistook his heart attack for exercising too much.
Actress Anita Dobson, 73, who has been married to the Queen guitarist since 2000, admitted she thought May’s pain was a result of melodrama, so she thought a hot drink might have resolved her complaints.
Dobson commented during an ITV ‘Loose Women’ appearance this week:
‘I didn’t accuse him, what I thought was that he just had a great workout because he was getting in shape for the tour. You know, we’re all a bit melodramatic: “Oh, I’ve got a terrible headache, I’m sure it’s cancer!” And he just said, “I think I’m having a heart attack!” And I said, “No, you probably tried too hard, you tried too hard.” I’ll make you a cup of tea! -. And he said, “No, this is not a tea time, I think I’m having a heart attack…really!” It wasn’t until the next day that we realized how bad it was when we went to the doctors. The doctor screamed and took him to the hospital and put in three stents.’
Brian May recounted in May 2020 how he was rushed to hospital following suffering a heart attack, while recovering from a torn muscle and trapped nerve as a result of an outfield injury.
The guitarist, who is now fully recovered, told fans in an Instagram video:
“I told them I had a pulled muscle and that’s how they diagnosed me and we thought it was like some freak gardening accident, but it turned out not really to be the case anyway.”
She said that following her agony was diagnosed as a torn muscle in her buttocks, she became concerned that she was still in pain a week later.
May added:
‘I mean real agony, I wanted to jump at a few points. I mightn’t believe the pain. And people say, ‘That’s not like a torn muscle,’ so I finally had another MRI.’
The results showed May had a trapped sciatic nerve which he said was so excruciating it felt like a screwdriver was being twisted into his flesh, but in the midst of being treated for the condition he went into cardiac arrest.
It turned out that he had three arteries that were so congested that they almost blocked his blood supply, but he reassured his followers:
‘I’m much better now. I am free from that terrible pain that actually destroys your mind.’