Max George’s ‘scary’ heart health episode before starting tour

Singer Max George has said he had a “scary” hospital visit two days before he was scheduled to head out on an international tour.

In an interview with the Daily Mirror, George — a member of the boyband The Wanted — opened up about the health issues he has faced since undergoing surgery last year to have a pacemaker fitted.

Last week, the singer revealed on social media that he had been taken to hospital and undergone MRI scans ahead of the US leg of The Wanted 2.0 tour with bandmate Siva Kaneswaran.

An arrhythmia is a disturbance in the heart’s normal rhythm, causing it to beat too quickly, too slowly, or irregularly.

“I had an arrhythmia – the top half of my heart was doing 50, which it should, and the bottom was 160, it was out of sync,” he said.

“It was scary but I’m alright now. I needed medication and I’m on that now, as it keeps it stable.”

The 36-year-old said the surgery meant adjusting to a new way of life, but “you just get on with it”.

“Stuff like exercise — I have to be careful doing too much because I depend on my pacemaker,” he said. “I have to avoid damaging it doing things like football or skiing — stuff that I love — which is hard.”

George revealed earlier this year that he had a second operation weeks after having the pacemaker fitted, after it caused a “flickering sensation” in his chest.

The pacemaker was fitted after the singer was diagnosed with a “2:1 block in my heart”, a condition where the heart beats more slowly or with an abnormal rhythm.

In February, The Wanted 2.0 postponed a concert at Manchester Cathedral after George said he would not be “well enough in time” following his second heart operation.

The Wanted, made up of George, Kaneswaran, Tom Parker, Jay McGuiness and Nathan Sykes, had two UK number one singles and four UK top 10 albums and are best known for the songs All Time Low and Glad You Came.