Brian May has been given a stern warning about his recovery from the “minor stroke” he had earlier this week, with a doctor revealing that ignoring any medical advice could lead to “long-term damage”.
Earlier this week, the 77-year-old legend revealed he lost the use of his arm in an Instagram video, where he announced his significant health update.
Posting a video addressing his fans, he explained: “I hope you’re all well out there. 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 and I say this because it was in some doubt because that little health hiccup that I mentioned happened about a week ago and 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 was a little scary.
“I have to say I had the most fantastic care and attention from Frimley Hospital where I went blue lights flashing… the lot. Very exciting!”
Since then, May has continued to post on his social media account and keep his fans updated with the adventures he is taking, however, Dr Chun Tang, a GP and Medical Director at Pall Mall Medical, has issued a warning.
When asked what impact ignoring medical recovery advice could have, Tang revealed to GB News: “Ignoring recovery advice could lead to long-term damage. So, singing too soon or pushing your voice when your muscles aren’t fully healed could strain your vocal cords, worsen muscle weakness, or delay your recovery.
“It could even cause permanent issues with pitch control or breath support. It’s important to follow a set recovery plan, that’s the best way to protect your voice and get back to performing safely.”
Discussing how a stroke affects a person’s muscle function, Tang added: “A stroke can affect the areas of the brain responsible for speech and muscle control. If the stroke affects muscles in the throat, face, or tongue, then a singer could experience slurred speech, difficulty controlling pitch, or even a loss of voice.
“It really depends on which part of the brain is affected.”
This isn’t the first major health issue that May has faced over the years, with the star previously suffering a heart attack in 2020, which left him “very near death”.
Speaking at the time, he told his social media followers he was “generally healthy” and noted: “Everyone says, ‘You’ve got great blood pressure, great heart rate,’ I keep fit on my bike, good diet, not too much fat.
“We’ve all got to really look at ourselves as we get to the autumn years – what seems to be a healthy heart may not be.”
May has recently been hard working on a BBC documentary which looks at his journey of campaigning against badger culling and previously discussed some of the backlash it received ahead of airing.
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Once again addressing his fans on Instagram, he slammed: “Hardly surprising that the Countryside Alliance want to stop you seeing our documentary – the result of 12 years research into how the disease of bovine TB is actually transmitted.
“The CA’s remit, of course, is to try to ensure that blood sports continue, and they represent hunters and shooters. These are the very people who find employment killing badgers in the Cull Zones, and they get paid a large fee per badger killed.
“It’s easy to see that the CA has a vested interest in making sure the badger culls [continue]. To date, around 230,000 badgers have been slaughtered in the UK. Imagine how much money is being made here. We can see also that they have a vested interest in TB NOT being eradicated.
“So it’s no wonder that these people would prefer that you didn’t see our film. Hopefully, the BBC will stand firm. The documentary is scrupulously fair and honest, and it means a lot to me that the plight of the farmers is well and sympathetically represented. Bri.” (sic)
