Doctor warns Jeremy Clarkson of 'high cost' of defying medical advice after health scare

A doctor has warned that Jeremy Clarkson could be at risk of a high cost after defying medical advise to attend a farming protest in Central London.

The former Top Gear and Grand Tour presenter, 64, reportedly defied doctors orders to attend the protest against inhertance tax changes despite the single figure temperatures and heavy sleet.

Ahead of the demonstration, Mr Clarkson told the Sun he would travel to London “despite having letters from doctors telling me not to go on the march and saying I must avoid stress”.

In recent months there has been speculation over the health of the veteran presenter after he spoke about having life saving heart surgery, discussed his changing his diet, and disclosed his fears about developing dementia.

Discussing the potential impact of attending the protest on his body GP Dr Jeff Foster, director of Men’s Health at Manual, warned that Mr Clarkson could potentially be putting himself at greater risk.

He said: “After any acute coronary episode/heart surgery, your heart is weaker and the body needs time to recover. If you push things too much after a heart event, it increases your risk of a further event or heart attack.

“Things that can impact on your heart recovery include high blood pressure, exercising too hard, too much alcohol or smoking, and of course stress. I appreciate this is an important event for Jeremy to be seen at, but could come at a way higher cost to his health.”

To back up his point, Dr Foster used the example of a runner trying to complete a marathon after injuring their leg.

He explained: “You would not run a marathon the day after you tear your thigh muscle so why after heart surgery would you think it is safe to go against your doctor and start increasing your stress less.”

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Mr Clarkson’s appearance at the protest has come as a surprise following his fears that he doesn’t have long left to live. Speaking to the Guardian earlier this year he claimed he had “70,000 hours left”.

In his Sunday Times column, the presenter went into greater detail about having the much reported heart surgery that saw him fitted with a stent to keep one of his arteries open.

Alongside concerns about the health of his heart, Mr Clarkson has also expressed his nerves about developing dementia, a currently incurable umbrella of deadly diseases for which there are only limited treatments.

He told the Times his fears had been exacerbated by a recent loss of hearing that he was told increased his risk of the disease: “My brain is having to use a huge amount of computing power trying to fill in the bits of speech it hasn't been able to hear. Which is hard when it's simultaneously trying to remember where I put my spectacles.”

Despite the variety of health anxieties facing Mr Clarkson he was outspoken when he appeared in Westminster.

Attacking the strategy of Chancellor Rachel Reeves he said: “If [Rachel Reeves] would have wanted to take out the likes of James Dyson and investment bankers and so on, she would have used a sniper’s rifle, but she’s used a blunderbuss and she’s hit all this lot.

“I beg the government to be big, to accept that this was rushed through. It wasn’t thought out, and it’s a mistake. That’s the big thing to do – admit it and back down.”