Jeremy Clarkson's health battles - from emergency heart surgery to slipped discs and dementia fear

Former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson's emergency heart surgery is just one in a long line of health issues the star has sadly suffered over the years - including a concern about his memory

The motoring journalist and former Top Gear presenter, who shot to fame for his love of supercars and stunts, has opened up about how it would seem age is catching up on him.

TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson has recently undergone a medical operation to prevent him from suffering future heart attacks but it’s not the only time he’s been concerned about his health. Being told you are "days away from death" can’t be easy for anyone to hear, but Clarkson Farm presenter Jeremy Clarkson has described it as the "wearisome effects of growing old."

The presenter has revealed how he recently went to the hospital to get his health checked out after facing difficulties using the stairs. The Mirror rakes a look at the petrolhead's share of health battles over the years.

The Diddly Squat Farm owner may be used to being active but he has disclosed how he recently feared for his health after swimming in the Indian Ocean on holiday. The 64-year-old father and grandfather has written about how he first faced difficulties breathing when using the stairs, and started to suffer a "sudden deterioration" in his health when he returned home.

The TV star, who has also presented the Grand Tour on Amazon Prime, described how he felt "clammy" and had a "tightness in my chest" with "pins and needles in my left arm". After hearing the news about former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond's fatal heart attack, he phoned for medical assistance and was taken in an ambulance to hospital where doctors ruled out a heart attack. However, they insisted on fitting a stent to prevent future heart attacks by improving the blood flow to his heart.

But he has assured fans he is OK. “I’m very grateful to everyone who sent supportive messages but I’m fine,” he said. “I just have to not do any manual labour or dishwasher emptying for the next four years. At least I think that’s what the doctor said.” The health scare has been enough to make the star rethink his lifestyle and consider ways ‘to make celery interesting’.

Jeremy had already given up smoking after contracting pneumonia while on holiday in Spain. And he has previously confessed that his “memory is shot,” airing his concerns that he will develop dementia. In January, he complained he was feeling unwell and experiencing a non stop runny nose which he believes could have been Whooping Cough.

Writing about his experience, Jeremy said: "I cough myself to sleep at night, my nose is like a tap, and every morning I produce about a pint of phlegm. I’ve tried everything. Pills. Lemsip. Sitting in front of a roaring fire watching Slow Horses." Meanwhile, in October last year, the star who is in a relationship with Lisa Hogan, had to have a 5-centimetre cyst removed from his back.

Speaking to The Sun , he said: "As I lay under the surgeon’s knife, I thought ‘this is preferable’. I did actually lose a stone though — mind you, half of that was probably the cyst. But it wasn’t cancer. It was never going to be cancerous though — I wasn’t in the mood." Back in 2005 he slipped two discs in his back while reviewing the TVR Sagaris for Top Gear. The injury was caused due to him excessively oversteering and he was forced to stop driving for six months.

Hopefully, his latest health scare could see him take things a little bit easier - he has recently described travel as a "young man's game" and shared his dread of ending up in a retirement home saying at 64-years-old he "fears it's coming".