Jeremy Clarkson reveals he needed heart procedure after 'sudden deterioration'

Jeremy Clarkson has spoken about suffering a “sudden deterioration” in his health, which required him to have a heart procedure.

The broadcaster and motoring journalist, 64, spoke about the “wearisome effects of growing old” in his column in The Sunday Times.

Clarkson said that he experienced “tightness in my chest” while swimming on holiday. After struggling to use the stairs he also had “pins and needles in [his] left arm”.

When he returned home, Clarkson experienced a “sudden deterioration began to gather pace” and decided to see a doctor after learning about Alex Salmond’s fatal heart attack.

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He was then taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. He underwent checks, and although a heart attack was ruled out, experts told him that he was “days away” from getting very ill.

“It seems that of the arteries feeding my heart with nourishing blood, one was completely blocked and the second of three was heading that way,” Clarkson said.

Clarkson then had a stent fitted, which improves blood flow to the heart.

“It wasn’t especially painful. Just odd… Crikey, that was close,” he said.

It comes after Clarkson gave a warning to Amazon and Prime Video about hit show The Grand Tour amid speculation it will be rebooted with new presenters.

Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May started The Grand Tour on Prime Video in 2016 after the three hosted BBC's Top Gear together for 13 years (May joined the show a year later than Clarkson and Hammond).

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