Heavy/Hallmark Susan Lucci shares health update following heart surgeries.
Hallmark actress Susan Lucci is feeling “good” at age 77. Her health has been a concern for a couple of years, but she’s been able to overcome a very scary issue. One that almost killed her.
“I’m in very good shape and I feel very good. I had a blockage, a 90 percent blockage in my main artery and a 75 percent blockage in the adjacent artery. And fortunately, I listened to my body and there was someone there [her doctor] who could prod me to go to the hospital,” Lucci told ET in an article published on July 8.
“Had I not gone there, I was told the next day when I was checked out that I 99.9 percent would’ve had the widow-maker. If I had laid down, I never would have gotten up. I was doing what many women do, I kept thinking, ‘Oh it’ll go away, it’s nothing, it’ll go away,'” she added.
Lucci is best-known for her role on “All My Children.”
Susan Lucci Has 3 Stents in Her Coronary Arteries
Lucci underwent two heart surgeries after first experiencing symptoms of a heart attack in October 2018, per People magazine. Her symptoms included “intense chest pressure” and pain in her ribs. She had admitted that she wasn’t convinced that something was really wrong at the time.
After going to see a cardiologist, Lucci learned that she needed two stents placed in her arteries. Three months later, she had a different round of symptoms that landed her back in the hospital. She recalled feeling chest discomfort, jaw pain, and shortness of breath. Lucci had another surgery and needed another stent.
A stent is a “tiny, expandable metal mesh coil. It’s put into the newly opened area of the artery to help keep the artery from narrowing or closing again,” according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
“It turns out, I had a 90 percent blockage in my main artery and a 75 percent blockage in an adjacent artery, and so they told me the next day, ‘You just avoided a widow-maker.’ I didn’t know! I had no idea,” she told ET back in 2019.
Susan Lucci Has Become an Advocate for Women’s Heart Health
Lucci has done her best to monitor her health and keeps up with her doctor appointments. However, after a terrifying ordeal that could have ended her life early, she has dedicated some of her time to raising awareness.
For example, in October 2023, she spoke at an event for the American Heart Association. She shared a post about the event on Instagram.
A few months later, Lucci expressed the importance of listening to your body. And not blowing things off when something doesn’t seem right.
“My takeaway was — is to tell women to put yourself on your to-do list, to listen to your body and if it doesn’t behave the way that’s normal for you, take action. The doctor will not be mad at you for coming if there’s nothing there,” she told ET in July.
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