Susan Lucci, 77, eats these three foods every day after suffering ‘widowmaker’ heart attack
There are three foods Susan Lucci eats every day.
The “All My Children” alum told Fox News Digital there are certain ingredients she lives on and always has in stock in her fridge.
“Salmon, blueberries and kale,” the actress said of her clean diet. “My doctor told me, ‘You keep doing what you’re doing because something good will come from that.'”
The 77-year-old, a longtime ambassador of the American Heart Association, follows the Mediterranean diet, which is rich in fresh fruits, vegetables and fish.
“It started with superfoods,” she explained. “A book about it came out, and my friend gave it to me. She was already eating that way and she looked great. And as I educated myself, I realized that’s how I ate. … I do have the occasional pasta and carbs. I love carbs. … But the key is moderation.
“I try to avoid foods that are full of cholesterol,” Lucci added. “I love cheese, but I don’t eat much of it, hardly ever. I love ice cream, but I moderate it. It’s all about moderation. For the most part, I avoid foods that can lead to cholesterol buildup. My husband was an executive chef trained in Europe. I remember I would eat everything that he was cooking. It was like monopoly food. And I did build up cholesterol. … It’s not about being trendy. It’s about being your best self.”
Lucci also follows a no-nonsense workout regimen, one she discovered 27 years ago.
“I do Pilates every day,” the star said. “The time depends on my schedule for the day and how early my day starts. But I get up early every day just to accommodate it. I do Pilates at least five days a week. Sometimes, it’s six days a week because it’s good to come at your muscles differently. I sometimes add weights for part of it or work out on a Pilates chair, which gives you a cardio workout as well. But I sometimes add light weights. I don’t want to bulk up. Everybody’s different, but that’s what works for me. I do 30 reps each.
“Pilates may look so easy, but it requires a lot of strength,” she said. “My good friend, who was my trainer for many years … her husband is a fitness buff. He would look at us, shake his head and go, ‘What are you doing?’ Because it does look easy. It does look like you’re not going to get any benefits from it at all. But, personally, there’s something to this for sure.”
Lucci has a good reason to be a big-time health advocate. She experienced cardiac trauma in 2018 when she began experiencing intense chest pains. She thought nothing of it.
“I remember my husband and I were waiting to be seated at a restaurant in October,” she recalled. “The waiter was coming to see us when I felt a little bit of pressure on my chest, which I had never felt before. It was very mild, so I thought, ‘It must be because the holidays are upon us. How many presents do I need to buy?’ I just thought it was holiday stress. So I ignored it, as many of us do as women. I just thought, ‘It’ll go away.’”
The same incident occurred a couple of weeks later at a different restaurant.
“I felt this pressure on my chest, only this time it was radiating around my rib cage to my back,” said Lucci. “I had never experienced that either. I’ve never had any kind of medical issue. So, again, I thought, ‘My bra is on too tight.’ I knew it wasn’t. I went home, I checked and it wasn’t that. And the pressure just stopped.”
A week later, Lucci went to shop for a pal at a boutique. As the salesperson gathered her things, Lucci felt a sharp pressure on her chest. She couldn’t ignore it any longer.
“I remember many years ago reading a story of a woman who spoke about her symptoms of a heart attack and how they can be different from men,” said Lucci. “I remember she said something about the feeling of an elephant pressing on her chest. That’s what I was feeling.
“I sat down on a little bench in the boutique,” said Lucci. “The manager came over and asked me if I was OK. She knew I wasn’t OK. She then said, ‘Susan, my car is right outside. … I could get you to the hospital faster than an ambulance can arrive.’ … I didn’t even have a cardiologist. I never knew I needed one.”
A scan revealed that Lucci had a 90% blockage in her main artery to her heart. According to her medical team, had she not acted on her symptoms, she would have succumbed to “the widowmaker,” a fatal heart attack. Lucci could have gone to bed that evening and not woken up. Doctors inserted two stents.
Lucci learned her condition was hereditary from her father’s side.
“I was totally in shock,” she said. “I didn’t have pain. It was just pressure. Everyone was surprised. You think with my lifestyle, how could this happen? Well, it could. And, in my case, it was family history. At the time, my mother was 100 years old. We all thought that I had my mother’s genes. Like her, I never had a health issue or anything. But it turned out that I had my dad’s genes. I didn’t know. … It’s so important to have an understanding of your family’s medical history.
“The doctor said to me, ‘You keep on doing what you’re doing because it really is hereditary. You got this from your family history.'”
A couple of years later, Lucci began experiencing a sharp pain in her jaw. This time, she didn’t think twice and called her cardiologist. She had another stent inserted that same night.
“I felt so ashamed,” Lucci admitted. “Here I was telling women to be aware of their symptoms, and I was starting to slip back into my old behavior, not wanting to believe it was anything significant. But it turned out that jaw pain can be another symptom for women. And I’m so thankful that I was mindful.”
Today, Lucci is thankful. In December, she was presented a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 50th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards.
The award was presented by Shemar Moore, who also gave Lucci her first Daytime Emmy in 1999 after 19 nominations dating back to 1978.
“I have two Emmys now,” Lucci boasted. “When I won the first Emmy, I kept it on top of a chest of drawers in the bedroom, so I could see it every day. It was so hard for me to believe that I had finally won. But only I could see it. I have never been one to display any awards on the main floor of the house. I wanted my children to see me as their mother. I didn’t want them to ever think of the actress in their home. I was their mother, and that’s the only role I wanted for them.”
Lucci said she will continue to raise awareness of heart health for women in hopes she can help save a life.
“My message for women is to listen to your body,” she said. “Always put yourself on your to-do list. We don’t even put ourselves on the list. I’m lucky I’m here to tell my story.”
