How to tell if your arteries are blocked as Jeremy Clarkson showed devastating impact it had on him
There are various signs to look out for if your arteries are blocked following Jeremy Clarkson's admission about his previous health scare.
The Clarkson's Farm star, 65, said his health suddenly started to deteriorate while he was on holiday on a small island in the Indian Ocean last year.
In his column for The Sunday Times, Clarkson said he found it difficult to swim all of a sudden and that he couldn't walk up a flight of stairs 'without holding someone's hand'.
He said 'these problems all manifested themselves in one day', and when he got home the 'sudden deterioration began to gather pace'.
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After feeling a 'tightness' in his chest, he started to feel 'pins and needles' in his left arm. The former Top Gear presenter was then taken to John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford in an ambulance for checks on his heart.
Scans showed that one of his arteries 'was completely blocked and the second of three was heading that way', with a consultant suggesting he could have been 'days from death'.
"So he made a hole in my wrist, inserted his Dyno-Rod equipment and went in for a closer look," Clarkson said. "God, it’s weird, lying there and feeling a metal pipe with a camera on the end wiggling its way round your shoulder and through your chest.
"The question was this. Were the arteries so ruined that I’d need an emergency heart bypass?"
As an alternative to surgery, Clarkson explained: "Or could he use his Dyno-Rods and some ultrasonic battering rams to loosen them up before inserting a stent? Which is a sort of Brillo pad that’s used to keep the blood vessels open.
"Mercifully, this turned out to be possible. But it took two hours and at one point it felt like he’d put a Hoover pipe up my arm, along with a pile driver, and was busy inside my heart with a B&Q chisel and hammer gift set. It wasn’t especially painful. Just odd.
"The next morning I went home, and here I am, two hours later, writing this and sort of thinking, 'Crikey, that was close'.
"I have no idea why I had felt clammy the previous day or why I’d had those pins and needles."
His partner, Lisa Hogan, also spoke about his health scare, which will be covered on the fifth series of Clarkson's Farm, and that she's been keeping an eye on him since then.
How to know if your arteries are blocked
According to Advocate Health, blocked arteries are typically the result of atherosclerosis.
The NHS states that 'atherosclerosis is where your arteries become narrowed, making it difficult for blood to flow through them', adding that 'it increases your risk of heart attack and stroke'.
Symptoms atherosclerosis often include:
· a pain in your chest
· pain in your arms and legs when exercising
· shortness of breath
· feeling weak, tired and confused
Atherosclerosis is more prevalent in people over the age of 65, who smoke and already have high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
To stop atherosclerosis getting worse, the NHS advises people to eat healthy, exercise on a regular basis and to maintain a healthy weight.
They also note to 'keep your blood sugar levels under control if you have diabetes' and to avoid smoking and drinking more than 14 units of alcohol per week.
Topics: Jeremy Clarkson, Clarkson's Farm, Health
Anish Vij