What is congestive heart failure? Film legend Elizabeth Taylor dies of condition at age 79

Dame Elizabeth Taylor poses backstage following 'Priscilla Queen Of The Desert', at the Palace Theatre on May 6, 2010 in London, England.

Hollywood legend, fragrance icon and HIV/AIDS philanthropist Elizabeth Taylor died Wednesday of congestive heart failure -- a condition in which the heart can't pump enough blood to the body's other organs.


According to the American Heart Association, the condition can be caused by narrowed arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle, high blood pressure or infection or damage to the heart valves. The blood flowing in and out of the heart slows and blood returning to the heart through the veins backs up, causing congestion in the tissues.


Common symptoms of congestive heart failure are swollen legs and ankles as well as difficulty breathing. The condition can be treated with rest, diet and medicine, including beta blockers and digitalis.


In rare instances, the heart can become irreparably damaged and require a heart transplant. In most cases, the condition can be treated with proper medical supervision.


Taylor, 79, had suffered multiple illnesses and injuries in the course of her life.


She underwent an appendectomy and an emergency tracheotomy and endured such ordeals as a punctured esophagus, a hysterectomy, dysentery, an ulcerated eye, smashed spinal disks, phlebitis, skin cancer and hip replacements, the Los Angeles Times reported.


In 1997, she had a benign brain tumor removed. Taylor had undergone heart surgery in 2009 to replace a leaky heart valve that had occurred because of the congestive heart failure.


She had been hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles before succumbing to the congestive heart failure.