Lindsey Graham died of a rare cardiovascular condition, according to preliminary findings from the D.C. Medical Examiner’s office.
The 71-year-old senator died on Saturday night after emergency personnel responded to a report of cardiac arrest at Graham’s Capitol Hill home at around 8:30 p.m., according to police scanner audio obtained by NBC News.
A preliminary examination conducted by the medical examiner found that Graham died from an “Aortic Dissection due to Arteriosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease,” according to his office.
An aortic dissection is a rare condition in which a tear occurs in the inner layer of the aorta—the body’s main artery—according to the Mayo Clinic, which says it “isn’t very common” and “usually happens in men in their 60s and 70s.”
The medical examiner’s office added, “The death certificate will be PENDING until all the toxicological and microscopic testing are finalized and at that point the death certificate will be updated to reflect the cause of death and appropriately classify the manner of death.”
Graham has a family history of heart disease, with his father dying of a heart attack at the age of 69, when Graham was 22.
Emergency responders were called to Graham’s home at around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday for a person suffering chest pains, according to police scanner audio obtained by The Washington Post. Around 25 minutes later, CPR was in progress, with the patient said to be suffering from cardiac arrest.
An aortic dissection occurs when the tear in the aorta allows blood to force its way between the artery’s layers, causing them to split.
“If the blood goes outside the artery, aortic dissection is often deadly,” the Mayo Clinic writes.
One of the warning signs of an aortic dissection is sudden, severe pain in the chest or upper back.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
