Doctors diagnosed The Wanted singer with an atrioventricular block, and he said he would need to spend the festive period in hospital for heart surgery to fit a pacemaker.
He shared the news via social media and said in a video: “I hope you are having a good night, spoke to the nurse earlier and good news is I get to have a scan earlier than I thought.
“So that’s really really good, and it’s called a 2:1 block, that’s what we know at the moment, going to try and find out the cause before determining how we treat it, whether a pacemaker, defibrillator, or something else.”
But what is the condition? Here is what we know.
Max George has shared his progress on Instagram
Instagram/Max George
Why is Max George in hospital?
The singer has been hospitalised since last week with a heart condition.
“It’s an issue with the bottom part of my heart. It’s called a block,” he wrote on Instagram.
What is an atrioventricular block?
An atrioventricular block causes the heart beat more slowly or with an abnormal rhythm. It’s caused by a problem with the electrical pulses that control how the heart beats and is diagnosed in stages. The most serious is considered a medical emergency.
What are the symptoms of an atrioventricular block?
The first is the least serious and you may not have symptoms.
A second degree heart block sometimes causes troublesome symptoms that need treatment and a third degree heart block is the most serious.
A first degree blockage often does not present any symptoms and sufferers may not know they have it unless they have some form of testing for an unrelated condition.
A second degree condition could leave people feeling light headed or dizzy and they might even faint. Other more serious symptoms include chest pain, shortness of breath or feeling dizzy when standing up from a lying down or sitting position.
Symptoms of a third degree or complete heart block include feeling faint, being short of breath, extreme tiredness, sometimes with confusion and chest pain.
Some people are born with heart block – known as congenital heart block but it is more common for it to come on and develop as people age. It can be caused by a heart attack, prescription medicines or having heart surgery.
Normally, a heart block only will be treated if it’s causing symptoms.
Depending on the cause of heart block and the symptoms, some people such as Max George – will have a small device called a pacemaker. This is a small battery-operated device inserted under the skin of the chest that sends frequent electrical pulses to keep the heart beating regularly.
The NHS says most people live a normal, active life with a pacemaker.