When celebrities reveal their health issues, we tend to stop and listen. Heart disease isn’t just a news headline—it’s a matter of life and death that resonates with us, particularly when it occurs to someone we sense that we know. From sudden heart attacks to long-standing heart ailments, these true stories aren’t rumors—these are wake-up calls for all of us to take heart health seriously. Here are nine of the most memorable celebrity heart battles, counting down to the strongest story of all—along with what we can learn from them.
8. Sushmita Sen – When Autoimmune Disease Meets the Heart
Bollywood actress and ex-Miss Universe Sushmita Sen stunned fans when she announced she had weathered a heart attack at 47. She underwent angioplasty and d stent, but her case also underlined how autoimmune diseases such as Addison’s disease can cause inflammation and weaken the heart. Sen’s ordeal highlights how women’s heart health is usually under-researched, particularly when combined with other chronic diseases.
7. Emma Chambers – Untimely Goodbye
Beloved actress Emma Chambers, who starred in The Vicar of Dibley, passed away suddenly at 53 due to a heart attack. With a known case of asthma and severe allergies, even she couldn’t imagine that her untimely death would leave everyone shocked. Her tale is a blunt reminder that heart attacks are not always preceded by warning signs, and it is really important to get checkups done regularly—even when you feel otherwise healthy.
6. Rosie O’Donnell – Beating the “Widowmaker”
Comedian and television personality Rosie O’Donnell almost died at age 50 after attributing her chest pain, fatigue, and tenderness to nothing. She discovered that she had a complete blockage of her left anterior descending artery—the so-called “widowmaker” type of heart attack. Emergency surgery saved her life, and now she encourages women to take even nonspecific symptoms seriously, as they usually differ from men’s.
5. Toni Braxton – A Long Struggle with Heart Complications
Singer Toni Braxton’s medical history has been marred by serious heart issues associated with lupus. It began with pericarditis, which is inflammation surrounding the heart, and continued with microvascular angina and thickened blood. She was even informed that she would possibly need a heart transplant at some point. Braxton has taken control of her conditions through medical treatment and lifestyle modification, using her platform to explain how autoimmune diseases complicate matters when it comes to heart health.
4. Miley Cyrus – Singing with a Racing Heart
Pop star Miley Cyrus has endured an entire career with supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), an arrhythmia that gives her heart an uncontrollable racing feeling. Though not deadly, the condition is ever-present, particularly when she performs. Her transparency about living with SVT makes it easier to talk about arrhythmias and reminds her followers that heart conditions aren’t exclusive to older generations.
3. Jennie Garth – Heart Health Is Hereditary
Beverly Hills, 90210’s Jennie Garth was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse during her 30s—a condition in which a heart valve fails to close normally. Garth had a family history of early heart disease, so she took initiative with her own health. Today, she encourages individuals with family risk factors to request sophisticated tests such as echocardiograms, rather than simple checkups.
2. Susan Lucci – Dismissing Symptoms Nearly Killed Her
Soap opera legend Susan Lucci was just a hairsbreadth from tragedy when doctors found two significant blockages in her arteries—90% and 75%. After being treated with stents, she confessed that she had dismissed chest and jaw pain, even warning other women for years to get treatment. Her close call serves to highlight how women’s symptoms are too easily dismissed, both by patients and physicians.
1. Star Jones – Translating Survival into Advocacy
In 2010, television personality Star Jones had open-heart surgery to replace a defective aortic valve following unsettling palpitations and tiredness. With a healthy lifestyle, she was caught off guard by her diagnosis. Following recovery, Jones has worked tirelessly to create awareness with the American Heart Association, speaking up to emphasize the value of early detection and knowing your risk.
These accounts demonstrate one thing: heart disease doesn’t discriminate based on age, income, or celebrity status. Risk factors such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, smoking, and family history can strike anyone. Women, especially, have special challenges—symptoms typically present differently and easily get missed.
The best defense? Learn your family medical history, have regular checkups, heed your body’s messages, and never ignore offbeat symptoms. If heart disease can strike Hollywood celebrities in the public eye, it can strike any of us—and that makes it more crucial than ever to prioritize heart health.