NEW YORK -- Erica Garner, the eldest daughter of Eric Garner, died Saturday morning after spending a week in a coma following a heart attack, her family said.

"We're going to stay strong as a family unit and take care of her children and make sure that they know how much she loved them," said Esaw Snipes, Erica Garner's mother.

Family members who spoke at Woodhull Hospital confirmed she passed away naturally after she was in a coma.

Erica Garner had suffered major brain damage after she suffered the massive heart attack last week. Family members said she went into cardiac arrest after an asthma attack.

Garner's family told Spectrum News they decided to keep her on life support through the new year out of respect to her children, but she passed Saturday morning.

Erica Garner's father died 2014 after an NYPD officer placed him in a chokehold. He had been stopped for selling loose cigarettes on Staten Island.

The incident was caught on video, with Garner repeatedly saying, "I can't breathe."

Following her father's death, Erica became an advocate against police brutality.

Snipes, speaking about Erica's legacy, said her daughter fought until the end.

"From the day she was born, she was a fighter," Snipes said outside the hospital. "She was born here in this hospital, and sorry she deceased in this hospital."

"She'd want us to fight on," Rev. Al Sharpton said with Snipes and supporters outside Woodhull Hospital. "Respect the dignity of Esaw and them: Make clear that they did not pull the plug."

Family members told Spectrum News that it will announce funeral arrangements later Saturday.