Natalie Cole Death Cause Revealed, 'Unforgettable' Singer Family Shares Health Problems Story

Natalie Cole, the daughter of legendary jazz singer Nat King Cole, died suddenly over the past New Year's Eve. A week after the "Unforgettable" singer's shocking passing, her family's speaking out about her cause of death and health struggles, after the star had suffered from problems with drug abuse as well as Hepatitis C and kidney failures.

The Cole family released a statement about the singer's cause of death last Thursday, revealing the rare illness that had taken the 65-year-old's life: Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension.

As the Coles explained, in this disorder, the small vessels of the lungs are progressively narrowed and/or obstructed. The singer had been diagnosed with the condition around five years ago, after she successfully went through a kidney transplant, and had responded well to treatment ever since.

However, one of the common side effects of this disorder is heart failure, which is what ultimately took her life as the vital organ couldn't handle the obstruction anymore.

"She responded well to PAH-specific agents over many years, during which she performed many concerts worldwide," Cole's family told Entertainment Tonight. "[She] eventually succumbed to intractable right heart failure, an outcome that unfortunately commonly occurs in this progressive disorder, despite modern therapies."

Cole passed away at Los Angeles' Ceders-Sinai Medical Center at 65, and according to Yahoo! News, ever since the news broke out there has been an outpour of support for her family in these difficult times.

Family friend and music legend in his own right Smokey Robinson called the singer "one of our greatest musical icons."

Cole struggled with health issues for many years, from long-running addiction to heroin, crack cocaine and alcohol to struggles with hepatitis C, an illness she later said came from her time as a drug addict. As previously mentioned, she also went through kidney failure that required dialysis and ultimately a transplant.