'Pain radiating around my chest': Actress Susan Lucci discusses brush with death in effort to promote women's heart health awareness
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. -- Heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States. It's responsible for more deaths than all cancers combined.
To mark National Heart Health Month, famed actress Susan Lucci, of Long Island, sat down for an exclusive interview with CBS2's Jennifer McLogan and shared details of her brush with death.
Lucci is taking a personal message public as the American Heart Association's National Ambassador for the Go Red for Women campaign.
"I was at the Americana shopping center for a birthday present for a girlfriend, and that's when I felt this, and again, the pain radiating around my chest," Lucci said.
The 75-year-old soap star, who dazzled millions in her decades-long career, admitted her sudden pain to the boutique owner.
"She very calmly said, 'Susan, my car is right outside. I can get you to St. Francis Hospital faster than an ambulance can get here,'" Lucci told McLogan.
"She felt the classical elephant on the chest. She came emergently to the ER at St. Francis, and on a Friday night we emergently opened up her artery," said Dr. Richard Shlofmitz.
Lucci could've died. It was a 90% blockage, but stent surgery was successful. That was three years ago.
Since Lucci eats well and regularly exercises, her doctor discovered high calcium levels were DNA inherited.
"My guardian angels... I think my dad was on this shoulder and my grandmother on the other shoulder," Lucci said.
Then COVID hit and habits changed.
"During COVID, I was eating as if it was like Monopoly money. It was Monopoly food," Lucci said.
Three weeks ago, shortness of breath and radiating pain returned.
"Frankly, I thought, oh, and I said this to myself the first time too, it must be my bra is too tight, and I knew it wasn't," Lucci said.
The blockage was cholesterol-induced.
"My husband was playing cards that night. I didn't want to bother him. I started feeling this sharp, coming and going pain in my jaw," Lucci said.
Lucci believes women are hardwired to take care of others, putting themselves on the back burner.
"There was an 80% blockage, this time in a different artery," said Lucci. "I wasn't going to talk about the second event because I was really embarrassed... and I had been telling women all these three years, 'Listen to your body.'"
Heart health ambassador Susan Lucci wants women everywhere to add their own names to their to-do lists.
Lucci has been given a clean bill of health and pledged to eat healthier, exercise and see her doctor regularly.
