Max George in recovery after second heart operation
Max George has revealed he has undergone a second heart surgery, weeks after he was hospitalised and fitted with a pacemaker.
The 36-year-old lead singer of The Wanted was diagnosed with an atrioventricular heart block in December 2024, a condition where the heart beats more slowly or with an abnormal rhythm.
Days later, he was rushed to hospital to undergo emergency surgery, and was recovering after having a pacemaker fitted, although he admitted he was living with a “strange sensation”.
The “Glad You Came” singer had appealed to fans for help after feeling the discomfort. He has now confirmed the “flickering sensation” turned out to be a problem with pacemaker wires being fitted too deeply in his heart walls.
“I thought I was on the road to recovery but when I was told I needed a second operation I was nervous, as pulling the pacemaker wires out of the heart wall risks bleeding on the heart,” he told The Sun. “I didn’t have a choice, though. I had to have it done.”
He added: “'I was trying to get back to good health but was still having a flickering sensation for weeks after I had my pacemaker fitted and it was gradually getting worse and worse.
“When my heart rate went up, it was causing a shock in my heart which was making me jump all the time. My chest was shaking.”
However, the operation, which was booked in for 15 January, did not come without risks as George feared he would “bleed out”.
“The night before, I was really nervous, I didn’t sleep much,” he said. “I was worried it could go wrong again and felt anxious that it could bleed out.”
Listening to Oasis helped him stay calm throughout the process. Surgeons were able to protect the tattoo on his chest dedicated to late band member Tom Parker, who died of cancer in 2022.
But the musician was back in hospital two days later to have a lung biopsy after doctors found he had enlarged lymph nodes. The procedure almost risked his career.
“The doctor did warn me there is a small chance that I could lose my voice,” he said.
“That was pretty worrying, but I decided I needed to take the risk. The biopsy was pretty gnarly, it’s a camera with prongs on the end that goes down your throat.
“It was painful. The recovery was tough, I had chest pain and was coughing up blood for five days.”
Although he has been sober for five years, he reports “gasping for a pint” and feeling that “life is too short” now not to.
“Since this happened, though, I have thought, ’As long as I am balanced there is nothing wrong with me having a couple of pints of Guinness now and again,” he said.
“I have said to my dad that when I’m better we should go to the pub – I think I’ve earned it.”
