If you want to be like Donna Murray of Sharpsville, just have several heart attacks, six catheterizations in 12 days, blood clots, disastrous angioplasty, stents that fail, coronary bypass surgery -- and then take up tap dancing.

Well, maybe not right away. You should probably recover for a couple of years before you shuffle, slap and tap your way down Broadway.

"I was set up to have a heart attack," she said. "My mother and father died of heart attacks, my brother had open heart surgery a year before I did, my oldest brother died while scheduled for open heart surgery." Add to that a three-pack-a-day smoking habit and a high-stress job while in her early 60s. That's what Dr. Eric Topol, head of the cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic, called a textbook case for women's heart disease.

"My first one came in March of 1992, and I really didn't take it too seriously," the 69-year-old said. "I thought it was all a mistake. My heart couldn't possibly attack me. There's no way. I went into total denial." After a worse attack in May 1992, she ended up in Cleveland Clinic.

Topol put her on medication and did multiple catheterizations to get rid of blood clots, then attempted balloon angioplasty. Unfortunately, the artery was so weak that it ripped. The doctors inserted three wire mesh stents to strengthen the arterial walls.

Everything seemed fine for a couple of months, but then the chest pains started again. The week before Election Day Mrs. Murray found herself back in the Cleveland Clinic. Topol wanted to perform open heart surgery immediately. However, she felt so strongly about the upcoming presidential election that she postponed the operation until after she could vote.

That time the surgery was successful, and the rest is history -- documented history, in fact. In December 1992, The Washington Post published an article about her in a special section on women's health.

Did she ever think she would dance again?

"Never, never, never!" she said.

But then, about three years ago, she saw a performance by a group of dancers called the Toast of the Town Tappers. They were members of the adult tap dance class taught by Bonnie Banick at Linda Lucas' Dance Studio in Sharpsville.

"Here I'm seeing people, some close to my age, still dancing and having a heck of a good time," Mrs. Murray said. "Like a lot of kids, I took tap lessons from about age 6 to 9 or 10. I always retained the love of dancing.

"I hadn't done any tap for ages -- except around the house, with music, while I was doing my work and whatever. After the show I thanked Bonnie and her group, and said, 'You guys are the greatest! I'm so impressed. This is terrific.' Someone said, 'Why don't you join us?' So I began my association with the Toast of the Town Tappers, and I've enjoyed every minute of it."

The group practices once a week and performs at nursing homes and community functions at least once a month. Mrs. Murray and some other members of the group have even danced on Broadway in New York City -- during the Macy's Tap-a-Thon, with as many as 6,000 other tap dancers.

"I stay well now because of Bonnie and her tapping class," Mrs. Murray said. "I love it. I love to dance."