Melissa Claire Egan is opening up about some sobering health news in hopes of raising awareness.
The actress known for playing Chelsea on The Young and the Restless on and off since 2011 revealed Thursday that she’s been diagnosed with heart disease at the age of 44.
“I wanted to share that in late January I was diagnosed with Coronary heart disease,” Egan wrote on Instagram. “Thanks to early detection, and medicine, I will be okay!”
She added that she’s a “private person, but this seemed TOO IMPORTANT NOT TO SHARE. Especially for women.”
Egan explained that her doctor had sent her to a cardiologist after some of her bloodwork had been abnormal: “Through a Heart calcium scan he found plaque in my LAD artery (known as the ‘widow maker’). It’s mild so far and tends to be genetic, but rare for a 44 year old woman. This could have caused the plaque to chip off and cause a fatal heart attack or stroke any time over the next 5-10 years, maybe even sooner.”
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Egan recommended women ask their doctor to evaluate their risk of coronary heart disease. She also said her diagnosis left her reflecting on what’s good in her life.
“Later that night after I was diagnosed, I laid with my sons, putting them to bed, feeling so grateful to God and my doctors that I found this early,” the actress recalled. “But I couldn’t stop thinking about all the other women(and men) that might have this disease and not know it. It is under-tested and under-recognized.”
Heart disease is the “Number 1 killer of women, causing 1 in 3 deaths each year,” Egan, who’s working with the American Heart Association, pointed out.
Egan has two sons, 4-year-old Caden and 2-year-old Jake, with husband Mat Katrosar. She has also been vocal about her struggle with fertility issues.
“I had two miscarriages,” she told General Hospital star Maurice Benard on his State Of Mind podcast in 2022. “It took five years for me to have my son. I have this thing called PCOS [polycystic ovary syndrome]. I have this thing called silent endometriosis. I pretty much have everything wrong.”
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Noting that she experienced “several failed IVF transfers” before getting pregnant with Caden, she added, “I believe in God and I truly felt like I just have to keep going” through “all of the shots and pills and blood thinners and acupuncture and appointments.”
In addition to her role on Y&R, Egan is known for having starred in All My Children from 2006 to 2011.