'I didn't have a choice': The Wanted star Max George gives candid health update after 'sensation in chest'
Max George has given fans a fresh health update after undergoing shock heart surgery.
The Wanted star has revealed he had a second operation weeks after getting fitted with a pacemaker after it caused a 'flickering sensation' in his chest. The 36-year-old had the device, which helps control the heart rate, fitted in December.
Speaking to The Sun On Sunday, George said: "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.
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'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.'
George said he felt 'really nervous' the night before the surgery, adding: 'I didn't sleep much. I was worried it could go wrong again and felt anxious that it could bleed out.'
He said he was not allowed to listen to music during the first operation, when he had the pacemaker fitted, but was able to during the second.
'Obviously an operation is a scary thing, but the music really helped and the nurse was reassuring,' he said.
'Slide Away (Oasis) started to play and I tried to take myself into my own world', he said. 'Afterwards I was just pleased it had gone successfully.'
Salford-born George previously revealed he would be having a lung biopsy, a procedure that involves a small piece of lung tissue being removed and sent to a laboratory to be examined and checked for abnormal cells, according to the NHS.
Speaking about this, he said: 'The doctor did warn me there is a small chance that I could lose my voice. 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.'
The singer has also spoken about the support he has received from friends and family as well as his partner, Maisie Smith, whom he met while competing on Strictly Come Dancing.
'The worst part for me is seeing my parents go through this,' he said. 'My mum has found it traumatic. I've tried to hold back from being upset in front of them. I feel helpless and responsible.
'It's been lovely to have Maisie here with me at home. She got me an Apple watch for Christmas so I can monitor my heart rate. She's been a great nurse and is very affectionate.
'Recovery has been a slow process, I'm trying to increase my walking every day – taking my dog Albert out and doing an hour on the treadmill daily. I was really fit before this all happened and now I'm the least fit I've ever been.'
Reflecting further on the health issues he has faced, he said: 'It plays on my mind, why this happened to me.
'I had a full heart scan a year before for a TV show I was doing and it was fine, so it doesn't make sense. I don't drink alcohol and I don't smoke, so it's mind-boggling.
'It's been four-and-a-half years since I last drank alcohol – it was life-changing for me, it just suited me better. Don't get me wrong, sometimes when I'm down the pub watching football I am absolutely gasping for a pint, but I think it's become a way of life now.
'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. I have said to my dad that when I'm better we should go to the pub – I think I've earned it.'
The singer previously said his pacemaker was the 'the best Christmas present' and shared a photo on Instagram of his scar. It sits just below a 'special tattoo' on the left side of his chest that says 04/08/1998, in reference to the birthday of his late bandmate Tom Parker, who died in 2022.
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