Singer Max George has said his heart condition has been "a blessing in ways", as he discussed the importance of charity work and raising awareness as part of his recovery.
The 37-year-old was admitted to hospital in December 2024 and doctors discovered he had a 2:1 block on his heart and needed urgent surgery because his heart rate was not improving.
George was fitted with a pacemaker that week, which he described as a "shock", and has since been on the mend – having returned to performing with duo The Wanted 2.0 last year.
He is now backing a new campaign by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to raise awareness of people living with heart conditions.
In an interview with the Press Association, George reflected on how he finds it "really rewarding" to speak to people about his condition.
The singer started publicly speaking about his heart problems during his time in hospital almost two years ago, when he documented the experience on Instagram due to "boredom".
He said: "To interact with people was just something nice to do. But the more I spoke to people, the more I realised that there was a lot of people my age and younger that have had this happen to them.
"It kind of triggered a thought process that it was important to get the word out there – that (heart problems) don't just happen to people over 75.
"If I can help them with their story or help bring more money towards treatment for heart conditions, then I’m all for it."
He added: "In terms of that, this whole thing has been a blessing in ways, because it’s been really rewarding speaking to people, especially people that are younger than me, and helping them feel a little bit better about their case."
George was diagnosed a heart block which can be helped by having a pacemaker fitted to keep the heart beating regularly.
He said: "It was mad. I knew something was seriously wrong, because I could hardly breathe, and my arms and my chest were blue – and my face.
"It was a shock more than anything.
"My heart rate was so low at that time, it was at around 24 (beats per minute) and it was like that for about eight days whilst I was in hospital waiting for the operation.
"I couldn’t physically feel anything that was going on, but I was aware of it. There were times where it kind of felt like torture a little bit."
As part of the BHF campaign, George will speak with people who have heart conditions and they will swap stories about their experiences.
He told PA he is "genuinely buzzing" to be part of the campaign, which will see the charity unveil 65 red benches – one for each year it has been established – across the UK in tribute to those living with cardiovascular disease.
Each bench carries the name of a survivor plus a short message about them and what they enjoy.
George said: "It feels really cool to be a part of it.
"This is an awesome campaign to be supporting, and we’ll just see where it goes."
Manchester-born George rose to fame in the 2010s with The Wanted alongside bandmates Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness, Nathan Sykes and Tom Parker – who died in 2022 at the age of 33 after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour.
George also appeared in US musical series Glee and competed on Strictly Come Dancing in 2020, where he met former EastEnders star Maisie Smith, who is now his girlfriend.
Source: Press Association
