The Wanted singer Max George gives update on his heart condition after being rushed to hospital

37-year-old George, who is still recovering from his heart condition, has said his health issue been “a blessing”.

Doctors discovered the boyband star had a 2:1 block on his heart and needed urgent surgery because his heart rate was not improving after he was rushed to hospital in December 2024.

George was fitted with a pacemaker that week, which he said was a “shock”, but now he is recovery. He has even returned to performing with boyband The Wanted 2.0 last year.

He started publicly speaking about his heart problems during his time in hospital via Instagram, and has always been open with his fans about his health issues.

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, he said: “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, according to the NHS, is caused by a problem with the electrical pulses controlling the heartbeat and 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, the charity will unveil 65 red benches across the UK in tribute to those living with cardiovascular disease - one bench for each year it has been established. 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 [the campaign]. 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.

The group, best known for songs including All Time Low, Glad You Came and Chasing The Sun, had two UK number one singles and four UK top 10 albums.

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.