Daughter Of Late Sen. Edward Kennedy Dies

Kara Kennedy, the oldest child of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, has died. She was 51.

Patrick Kennedy, a former congressman from Rhode Island, said his sister died Friday while at a Washington, D.C.-area health club.

Kara Kennedy, the oldest of three children, was a lung cancer survivor. Doctors removed a malignant tumor in 2003.

"She's with dad," Patrick Kennedy said. Their father died in 2009.

Patrick Kennedy said his sister loved to exercise but that her cancer treatment "took quite a toll on her and weakened her physically."

"Her heart gave out," he said.

Copyright 2011 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.