'The Young and The Restless' Star Melissa Claire Egan Diagnosed with Heart Disease

Melissa Claire Egan is opening up about her health.

In a new Instagram post shared on Thursday (January 26), the 44-year-old The Young and the Restless actress announced that she has been diagnosed with heart disease, and emphasized how grateful she is that her condition was caught early.

Keep reading to find out more…“I wanted to share that in late January I was diagnosed with Coronary heart disease,” Melissa began. “Thanks to early detection, and medicine, I will be okay! I’m a private person, but this seemed TOO IMPORTANT NOT TO SHARE. Especially for women.”

According to the Cleveland Clinic, heart disease “includes many diseases that affect your heart, but coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common and familiar one. Heart disease can lead to a heart attack, heart failure, cardiac arrest, stroke and organ damage. Healthy habits, medicines and procedures can prevent or treat CAD and other heart diseases.”

“My brilliant doctor of 20+ years @drthaisaliabadi sent me to a wonderful cardiologist @ghalichimd when some bloodwork came back high, and through a Heart calcium scan he found plaque in my LAD artery (known as the ‘widow maker’),” the Daytime Emmy-nominated actress explained. “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.”

“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,” she shared. “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.”

If you didn’t know, Melissa shares sons Caden, 4, and Jake, 2, with husband Matt Katrosar.

Melissa then went on to emphasize of the importance of taking care of yourself and getting checked out by doctors.

“We all are so good about getting our mammograms every year, but we don’t check our heart health. It is imperative that you do! Cardiovascular disease is the Number 1 killer of women, causing 1 in 3 deaths each year,” she wrote. “Tell your doctor you want to be evaluated for coronary heart disease risk. A takeaway from my situation, for your blood tests ask your doctor to specifically look for Lipoprotein(a) and ApoB levels. Also you MUST ASK YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT A ‘Heart Calcium scan’”

“I’m grateful to work with them sharing my story,” Melissa concluded. “Let’s all band together, focus on our heart health, and live longer!!!❤️”