Updated December 31, 2017 12:38:41

Photo: Erica Garner died in New York after a weeklong hospital stay following a heart attack. (AP: Amanda Meyers, File)

Black Lives Matter activist Erica Garner has died in a New York hospital at the age of 27.

Ms Garner suffered serious brain damage after a heart attack a week ago.

She came to prominence three years ago after her father Eric Garner died while being choked by a police officer as he was being arrested for a minor offence.

Video of Mr Garner's arrest and his last words 'I can't breathe' went viral on social media and became a key catalyst for the Black Lives Matter movement.

"She was a warrior to the end. She stood up for justice for her father," the Reverend Al Sharpton said in announcing the death of Ms Garner.

Ms Garner's official Twitter account, run by her family and friends since she became ill, asked that she be remembered as a mother, daughter, sister and aunt with a heart "bigger than the world."

In 2014 Eric Garner was stopped on Staten Island for selling untaxed cigarettes and died after a white police officer subdued him with a chokehold.

A grand jury declined to indict the officer; the city agreed to pay a $US6 million ($7.6 million) civil settlement.

Mr Garner's last words, "I can't breathe," became a slogan for activists.

Erica Garner became a voice for police accountability after his death, criticising Mayor Bill de Blasio over policing matters.

In 2016, she campaigned on behalf of independent senator Bernie Sanders in his bid to run for president.

Ms Garner's mother, Esaw Snipes, told The New York Times previously that Ms Garner, who gave birth four months ago, had learned during the pregnancy that she had heart problems.

Ms Snipes said Ms Garner had a heart attack after an asthma episode and was placed in a medically induced coma.

ABC/AP

Topics: world-politics, community-and-society, death, race-relations, united-states

First posted December 31, 2017 09:37:18