- Erica Garner, 27, remained on life support in a Brooklyn hospital on Thursday
- Mother-of-two has been in a coma for five days since going into cardiac arrest
- Garner suffered major brain damage from lack of oxygen during the heart attack
- She has been an activist against police brutality ever since her father Eric Garner died after he was placed in a chokehold by an NYPD officer in 2014
- Person behind Garner's Twitter account refuted a RIP message posted prematurely by Brooklyn Councilman Jumaane Williams on Thursday
By Emily Crane For Dailymail.com
Published: 11:01 EST, 28 December 2017 | Updated: 16:48 EST, 28 December 2017
The 27-year-old daughter of police chokehold victim Eric Garner has been declared brain dead with no chance of recovery after her asthma triggered a massive heart attack.
Erica Garner remained on life support in a Brooklyn hospital on Thursday morning.
The activist and mother-of-two has been in a coma at Woodhull Hospital for five days after she went into cardiac arrest on Saturday.
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Erica Garner, 27, remained on life support in a Brooklyn hospital on Thursday morning after doctors declared her brain dead with no chance of recovery
'She's not gone, she's brain dead,' her mother Esaw Snipes told the New York Daily News.
Her father, Eric Garner, died after a white NYPD police officer put him in a chokehold in Staten Island in 2014
'Physically she is still with us.'
Her family were being called to the hospital to say their final goodbyes.
The person running Garner's official Twitter account tweeted Wednesday night that she had suffered major brain damage.
'Cat scan shows Erica suffered major brain damage from a lack of oxygen while in cardiac arrest,' they tweeted.
'Please continue to pray hard for Erica and pray for her family and kids just as much.'
The Twitter account hit back at a condolence message from Brooklyn Councilman Jumaane Williams after he prematurely said on Thursday that Garner had died.
'As we sent prayers up… so sorry to hear the news. RIP @es_snipes. That family still needs us #Garner,' Williams wrote in a tweet he has since deleted.
The person running Garner's official Twitter account tweeted Wednesday night that she had suffered major brain damage during the heart attack
Her mother had earlier confirmed the heart attack was triggered by an asthma attack.
Garner, who has an eight-year-old daughter and a baby boy born in August, suffered her first heart attack shortly after the recent birth.
Doctors said at the time the pregnancy had taken a toll on her body and found that her heart was enlarged.
Garner, who named her newborn after her late father, has been an advocate for combating police brutality ever since his death in 2014.
Garner was strangled to death after being stopped for selling loose cigarettes in Staten Island. Officer Daniel Pantaleo (circled, left) was seen on video putting him in a chokehold
Eric Garner, who was unarmed at the time, died after a white NYPD police officer put him in a chokehold in Staten Island.
The father-of-six's death sparked widespread protests.
He had been accused of illegally selling cigarettes on a sidewalk when an officer put him in the chokehold from behind and brought him down with the help of other officers.
Garner complained repeatedly that he could not breathe.
The city medical examiner ruled Garner's death a homicide, with asthma and obesity as contributing factors.
WHY ASTHMA CAN CAUSE A HEART ATTACK
by Mia de Graaf, US Health Editor
Asthma may not be an obvious cause of a heart attack – it affects the respiratory system (airways), not the cardiovascular system (arteries).
But studies have shown that asthma can double the risk of a heart attack.
The reason for the link is unclear, but likely boils down to inflammation and swelling.
Asthma, an inflammatory disease of the lungs, causes the lining of air passages to swell, restricting the flow of oxygen through the body. It affects more than 25 million Americans, according to CDC data.
This in turn can affect blood flow.
A study by the Mayo Clinic in 2014 found that anyone who has sought asthma treatment in the last year, or who has suffered regular symptoms for a year, has double the risk of a heart attack.
The study eliminated people who also suffered COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), which is common in asthma sufferers and increases the risk of a heart attack by restricting oxygen flow.
OTHER FACTORS:
This was not Erica Garner's first heart attack.
The young activist suffered her first shortly after giving birth; during her pregnancy she'd been diagnosed with an enlarged heart (peripartum cardiomyopathy).
Asthma is the most common life-threatening condition for pregnant women.
It can lead to high blood pressure, premature birth and death. It can also affect a baby's development, birth weight, and can cause stillbirth.
Restricted oxygen flow is also the primary causes of peripartum cardiomyopathy, which is exacerbated by the baby's need for oxygen and essential nutrients.
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