Susan Lucci, 75, Reveals She Had 2 Blockages in Her Heart, Urges Women to Prioritize Health ‘Guilt-Free’
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Four years ago at 71, Susan Lucci nearly suffered a fatal heart attack also known as “The Widowmaker.”
She ignored feelings of chest tightness before she was eventually hospitalized for emergency surgery. Doctors found two blockages in her heart.
Lucci is now sharing her story in hopes that she can encourage other women to take control of their health and avoid scary situations like the one she experienced.
When Susan Lucci was 71, she began experiencing unexplained tightness in her chest. Although she noticed the feeling, she brushed it off as something mild. Then, one day while shopping, the tightness grew so intense that she had to sit down and catch her breath.
After finally going to the doctor, Lucci was told she needed emergency heart surgery—she had a 90% blockage in her main artery and a 75% blockage in the adjacent one. If she hadn’t undergone the procedure when she did, doctors say she would’ve suffered a fatal heart attack also known as “The Widowmaker.”
In a new interview with People, the All My Children star shared her experience in hopes to encourage other women to prioritize their health—something she says she didn’t do before her incident.
“As women, we are prone to not want to bother the doctor,” she explained, touting her new partnership with the American Heart Association (AHA). “We are prone to taking care of our children, of course, and our husband, or significant other, and our homes. And we get busy, and we are not even on the to-do list.”
With the AHA's Go Red for Women initiative, Lucci is calling for all women to take control of their health. “Give yourself permission to take care of yourself. You are the caretaker for everyone around you, and if you’re not well, they’re not going to get taken care of either,” she told People. “So be guilt-free, put yourself on that to-do list. Your wellbeing is great for you, and it’s great for everyone you love, who loves you.”
Even if you’re someone who isn’t a caretaker of others, it’s important to put health first. “Heart disease ... is the No. 1 killer of women,” Lucci said, adding that it “kills seven times more women every year than all cancers put together.”
That’s why, now, at 75, she sees her doctor every six months. “I just like to monitor and see what's going on,” she explained. “And I feel that if indeed there were anything to come up, I’d rather know sooner because I think the sooner you find things out the better the treatment can be.”
And while those visits are crucial, Lucci also finds ways to check in with her mental health as well. “I think a lot of us, men and women, are on call. We are on call all the time. People are calling your name. People need things from you. And you want to do everything ... You are just pulled in a million different directions,” she said. “So find a quiet moment. Maybe a quiet 15 minutes, or a quiet 10 minutes, whatever you can find, that’s just a quiet time for you where nobody’s calling your name and there are no demands on your time or your brain.”
She’s not wrong, physical and mental health—it’s all connected. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a growing body of research shows that certain mental health factors—including stress, depression, and anxiety—are associated with risk factors of heart disease.
So when Lucci urges people to nurture themselves from the inside out, she means it. Doing so could quite literally save your life.
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