“The Young and the Restless” star Melissa Claire Egan (Chelsea) has opened up about her heart disease diagnosis at age 44. Egan announced her diagnosis in February during American Heart Month. She’s getting brutally honest about what that means for her to bring awareness about the disease in women.
Melissa Claire Egan Surprised to Learn About Her Condition
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight correspondent Nischelle Turner, Egan didn’t hold back, talking about her heart disease diagnosis. It was not on the soap star’s “bingo card for 2026.”
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women, one in three deaths to be exact. Egan was not expecting to get her diagnosis, especially since she lives a pretty healthy lifestyle.
“I don’t smoke. I don’t have diabetes. I’m a pretty healthy person. I try to sleep well. I exercise. I don’t smoke. So, a lot of it is genetics, which now I’ve come to learn,” she expressed.
Egan got emotional as she revealed the disease is referred to as the silent killer because there are no symptoms. Therefore, people are unaware they have it until something drastic happens, and many times it leads to death. It’s the main reason she’s telling her story so people can get tested and take the steps to help prevent a tragedy.
“I just feel like people need to know. My children could have lost their mom,” the soap star, who is mom to sons Kaden and Jake, with her husband Matt Katrosar, stated.
The actress explained how she received her diagnosis. During some blood work, her doctor saw that some markers came back high and sent her to a cardiologist. Egan admitted to putting it off for a while because life happened, and she honestly thought seeing a cardiologist was for older men, which she called “a foolish thing to think.”
When Egan finally went, things looked great at first. Then she had an EKG, which raised concerns because the doctor couldn’t see any plaque on her scans. After having a heart calcium test, Egan learned she did have heart disease.
“I was definitely in shock for the first day. But slowly the shock turned into gratitude because I just realized, he said, ‘You’re gonna be okay, but you’re really lucky you came to see me.’ He’s like, ‘In five to 10 years, you very easily could have had a stroke or a heart attack,” she explained, adding, “So I just felt overwhelmed by this mission to just scream it from the rooftops. Everyone needs to go check their heart health.”
The disease has led Egan to make even healthier choices in her life and more changes now that she is aware of her heart condition. Egan’s also making sure her husband and boys get checked, as well as others in her family, since the condition is hereditary.
So Much Love and Support
It’s been an emotional roller coaster for Egan. Aside from her loving family, especially Katrosar, the actress has received massive support from her “The Young and the Restless” family.
Egan’s interview with Turner took place on the set of the CBS soap. Turner revealed to Egan that she had bumped into Christian LeBlanc (Michael), who called Egan his hero following her diagnosis.
“They were so sweet. That’s gonna make me emotional. They’re the best,” she expressed.
The actress also gave a massive shout-out to fans, her family, and friends who have reached out and supported her. Egan’s grateful not just for the support but also for so many people getting the word out about heart disease because that is her mission.
In fact, Egan even hinted that she has planted a bug in the writers ears, suggesting that Chelsea’s next life challenge could focus on heart disease, shedding even more light on it.
