Rita Owens, beloved mother of singer/actress/talk show host Queen Latifah, passed away Wednesday after struggling with a heart condition for more than a decade. Heart failure is a chronic, progressive condition in which the heart is unable to pump blood efficiently enough to meet the body’s needs.Owens had a defibrillator implanted in her chest to avert a heart attack. A low salt and fat diet with heavy vegetables also enabled her to live with the condition. Latifah says she is ‘heartbroken, but at peace’. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Owens family.
*image courtesy of okayplayer
