His ‘Heart of Steel’ continues to beat

He was born with a heart murmur, watched both of his parents die from complications of diabetes and has survived being shocked 14 times with an electronic defibrillator several years ago.

Through all that, Dan Lurie, an 88-year-old North Woodmere resident, has retained his belief about the importance of being healthy and hopes to share his passion with the community.

On Sunday, Oct. 23 at 6 p.m., Lurie is hosting a benefit at the Lawrence Yacht and Country Club to raise awareness about heart conditions. The benefit includes a dinner, free T-shirts and raffle prizes with proceeds going to the American Heart Association.

Born with a heart murmur in 1923, doctors didn’t expect Lurie to live past 5-years-old. He went on to become a body builder and founded Dan Lurie Barbell Company in the 1940s, based out of Brooklyn, before winning his first America’s Most Muscular Man Contest in 1942 and then again in 1943, 1944 and 1946. He wrote an autobiography “Heart of Steel” that was published in 2009.

Despite his passion for bodybuilding, Lurie places great importance on family as he married his wife Thelma in 1947 and the couple has since had five children, 15 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

In his 70s, Lurie had an electronic defibrillator put in his body and when medication caused his potassium levels to drop, his heart beat faster and irregular which made his defibrillator shock his heart, a total of 14 times, back into a normal rhythm.

Currently, Lurie suffers from a mild case of diabetes and is managing it through medication and watching what he eats. “I’m getting better,” he said. “I lost 75 pounds recently so I got very skinny. I try to think positive though because I hate people who think negative.”

Lurie wants his community realize the value of health and hopes people enroll in a first aid course and learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) so they can save someone’s life and take charge of their own health by exercising and eating healthy. His famous slogan is, “health is your greatest wealth.”

Dr. Steven Mezzafonte, a cardiologist at St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn, has been treating Lurie for the past few months and said he is a complex patient because of his diabetes, cardiac disease and heart rhythm issues.

When asked why he thinks Lurie survived being shocked by his defibrillator and complications from diabetes, Mezzafonte said, “Sometimes it’s the will to live and sometimes it’s luck.”

Tickets for the fundraiser are $35 and can be paid for by cash, check or Paypal, email danlurieheartfund@gmail.com for more information. Tickets will also be sold and donations will be accepted at the door on the day of the event.