Former England star Stuart Pearce has opened up on how doctors had to restart his heart after he was taken ill on a flight . The 62-year-old was on a plane home from Las Vegas which had to be diverted to Canada, and he has thanked medics for their "magnificent" work. Pearce spent five days under supervision before he was finally allowed to return home. He spoke about his experience on a talkSPORT appearance , revealing his heart rate climbed to 155 beats per minute, and has now shed more light on what he went through. “My heart was racing a little bit,” Pearce told The Times . “The medical staff on the plane were magnificent and they made the decision after three hours to drop me off in St John’s in Newfoundland. "The hospital staff there basically stopped my heart and restarted it again to put it back into a normal rhythm. I had five days there and another five days in a hotel waiting for the medical care to get organised, so an extra ten day’s holiday, basically. They think it was caused by a virus.” Pearce looked after himself during a lengthy playing career, and was 39 years old when he made his final Premier League appearance. He has maintained a healthy lifestyle since retirement, but isn't brushing off his health scare. "I’ll obviously go through any checks and stuff going forwards, but I’m feeling good," he added. "I’m fine. I’m a little bit matter-of-fact as a person. "I’ve got no family history of that type of thing, my lifestyle is pretty good, so it’s probably been more of a concern to those around me. The support has been very humbling.” Pearce, known as 'Psycho' during his playing career, was in Vegas to take in a Super League match between Warrington Wolves and Wigan Warriors. The rugby league match was held at Las Vegas Raiders' Allegiant Stadium, with the Warriors winning 48-24. He was given a warm reception by fans when two of his former clubs - Nottingham Forest and Manchester City - faced off in the Premier League. "I've had some brilliant messages from people," he told talkSPORT earlier in the month. "I've been fortunate enough to watch a few games; the Forest game against Man City was very, very humbling. I saw that. Thank you for your messages and to everyone else who has sent messages of support, it's very, very humbling." Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.