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Rep: Liz Taylor hospitalized with congestive heart failure symptoms

By Alan Duke, CNN
Elizabeth Taylor used Twitter to talk to fans about her heart operation in October 2009.
Elizabeth Taylor used Twitter to talk to fans about her heart operation in October 2009.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • NEW: Taylor is "fine and even better, comfortable," her publicist says
  • The actress checked into Cedars-Sinai this week
  • Doctors are monitoring an "ongoing condition," her rep says
  • Her leaky heart valve was fixed in October 2009
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Los Angeles (CNN) -- Legendary actress Elizabeth Taylor is being treated in a Los Angeles hospital for "symptoms caused by congestive heart failure," her representative said Friday.

Taylor, 78, checked into Cedars-Sinai Medical Center this week for the "ongoing condition," Taylor representative Jamie Cadwell said.

"This issue is being addressed," Cadwell said. "She is currently being kept in the hospital for monitoring."

Her publicist gave CNN more detail in a statement later Friday evening.

"I can assure you she is fine and even better, comfortable," Sally Morrison said.

When doctors repaired a leaky heart valve in October 2009, Taylor posted a Twitter message saying it "was like having a brand new ticker."

The Oscar-winning actress has used Twitter over the past two years to communicate with fans and dispel the occasional rumor reported on celebrity gossip websites.

However, a message she tweeted Wednesday was her first in nearly six months. The tweet pointed fans to an interview she gave to Kim Kardashian in Harper's Bazaar magazine.

"I like the connection with fans and people who have been supportive of me." Taylor told Kardashian when asked about Twitter. "And I love the idea of real feedback and a two-way street, which is very, very modern. But sometimes I think we know too much about our idols and that spoils the dream. So, like all things, it is to be used with care! Yes, of course I'll follow you, love."

Taylor's representative, in Friday's statement, asked that "people respect her privacy and allow her medical team the time and space to focus on restoring her back to health."

The London-born movie star has won two Academy Awards for best actress for "Butterfield 8" in 1961 and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" in 1967.

CNN's Jack Hannah contributed to this report.