Italian designer Laura Biagiotti, 73, suffers heart attack

ROME (AP) - An Italian hospital official says the fashion designer Laura Biagiotti has suffered a heart attack that has resulted in brain damage.

Lorenzo Sommella, a doctor at the Sant'Andrea hospital in Rome, said Thursday that the 73-year-old suffered "very grave damage" to the brain due to a lack of oxygen after the cardiac arrest.

Doctors are performing tests to verify possible brain death, the hospital said.

Biagiotti began her career as a fashion designer in the 1960s and was one of the earliest Italian woman designers to go global with her creations.

She was known for elegant and feminine cashmere designs that won her the nickname "Queen of Cashmere." Her company also produced several perfumes, including the very popular "Roma" fragrance.