Lindsey Graham’s Preliminary Cause of Death Raises Awareness of Aortic Dissection
A person reportedly pushed Graham to see a doctor last week when he said he wasn’t feeling well.
The Washington, D.C., medical examiner announced that preliminary findings show Sen. Lindsey Graham passed away from an aortic dissection.
Graham passed away late Saturday night.
Axios buried an important nugget in its report about Graham’s final push for peace between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Graham spoke with President Donald Trump on Saturday night about his trip to Ukraine and a Russia sanctions bill.
Afterward, Graham spoke to a person whom Axios did not name:
- A person who spoke with Graham shortly afterward said the senator complained that he was feeling unwell. When the person urged him to seek medical attention immediately, Graham said he would do so Sunday morning after his scheduled appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
- Graham then joked: “I can’t die now. I still need to do the Russia sanctions, get Iran sorted out and do Israeli-Saudi normalization.”
If you are not feeling well, especially when you’re older or have health conditions, go to a doctor immediately. If it’s at night, then go to the ER. Listen to your body.
Aortic dissection is serious. From Fox News:
An aortic dissection occurs when there is a tear in the aorta, the body’s main artery carrying blood from the heart.
Graham’s office said the medical examiner found the condition was due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, commonly described as hardening of the arteries. It has raised Americans’ awareness of heart disease and general health.
The finding offers the first medical explanation for Graham’s sudden death, though it was described as preliminary and toxicology reports remain pending.
Heart disease, which refers to various conditions affecting the heart and blood vessels, is the #1 killer among males and females.
Heart diseases claim more victims than all forms of cancer and accidental deaths, the second and third causes of death of people, combined.
Aortic dissection symptoms mimic those of heart attacks and strokes: severe chest pain, shortness of breath, vision changes, difficulty in speaking.
Unfortunately, aortic dissection, which is rare, can become fatal in minutes:
Aortic dissection is a tear in the inner layer of a weak area of your aorta. Blood going through the tear splits your aorta’s layers. Your aorta is the main artery that delivers oxygen-rich blood to your body. Aortic dissection is a life-threatening condition that requires immediate care. Treatment includes several types of surgery and medication.
Type A aortic dissection is the most common and dangerous because the tear occurs in the ascending aorta near the heart. Type B is when the tear happens in the lower aorta.
My research indicates that if you’re struck by Type A, you need surgery right away because mortality increases 1-4% every hour. But 40% of patients die instantly from a complete rupture and blood leaving the aorta.
It also seems like aortic dissection is a silent killer. In other words, you don’t know about it until it’s too late.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, an aortic dissection occurs after the aortic walls undergo a slow breakdown of their cells.
“The breakdown has likely been going on silently for many years before the weakened area of the aortic wall finally gives way,” the clinic added. “This results in a tear, which leads to the aortic dissection.”
Aortic dissections affect men more than women, especially those 60 and older, since age loosens the elasticity around the heart and aorta.
You can prevent an aortic dissection and heart disease in general:
- Treat your high blood pressure and cholesterol
- Eat healthy
- Exercise (powerlifting, though, can stress the aorta)
- Avoid tobacco
- Maintain a healthy weight.
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Comments
RIP, Lindsey. I was surprised at how many people were shocked that a 71 year old man dropped dead from a heart problem. After a certain age, we are all walking around with ticking time bombs inside us. Take sensible precautions, and then try to put it out of your mind. Every day is a gift.
my only question is whether it can be diagnosed 2-3 years before it happens – ie are there warning signs of any sort? calcium scores, or some other diagnostic test. FWIW – I have had 7-8 tests of several different types of cardic tests due to high calcium score (hard calcium which is common in endurance athletes) (resting HR in the low 40’s with top end HR of 165ish). I recall one of which was measuring the aortic valve.
I also recall seeing a report that both his parents died in their late 50’s / early 60’s which would indicate bad genetic genes.
You should tone down the road cycling. New studies are showing bradycardia in older athletes is no longer a bragging point and is associated with the big exit.
71 is still “young” these days. Richard Biggs, who played the doctor on Babylon Five, died from dissecting aneurysm at age 44.
John Ritter at 54. We all walk around with departure ticket.
A young woman I know died suddenly of aortic dissection. I had not heard of this problem before her death. As I understand it, there is no treatment for this condition. Even if you are in a hospital and doctors discover you have this condition, it is almost impossible to repair. There isn’t enough time to attach a person to all the necessary machinery before the person dies. I understand if you were a patient on The Pitt you w0uld survive, but not likely anywhere else. What I say here comes from medicos.
My next door neighbor’s ascending aorta burst 1o years ago. Within 10 minutes a helicopter landed on his front lawn and took him to Yale New Haven. Within another 30 minutes he was pumped full of beta blockers and morphine, had his chest opened up and portions of ribs taken out. He was put on a heart lung machine and had a synthetic replacement grafted on. He is still around mowing that front lawn.
Wow
My mother dies of an aortic dissection, although she was older. Her immediate symptoms were similar to a stroke, She hung on for a few days, long enough for everyone to see her and say their goodbyes.
John Ritter also died of an aortic dissection, but he was much younger and went fast.
And they did no treatment?
She was presented with a surgery option, but given her age and other infirmities, she decided against it. She was ready to go.
I have an aortic aneurism. This is a bubble in the aorta. In my case this was discovered by a chest CT scan when I was hospitalized a few years ago for (still unknown) chest pains. It can also be seen on an ultrasound.
There are no symptoms from it. We just monitor it. If it gets too big then surgery will be indicated. Until then I try to ignore its existence.
It is unknown how long I’ve had it. It might be congenital. It might be because of some damage to the aorta at some point. Its unknown.
No one typically is checked for aneurisms. They are discovered as a side effect of looking for the cause of other potential problems or in an extreme case when they dissect,
A study on “back pain” found a significant number of AAA’s. One caveat, if you have any major surgery be sure that they monitor that AAA. I have seen it personally, but Lucille Ball died of a burst thoracic aneurysm after repair of her AAA. The body’s healing process systemically releases elastase enzyme to help clear the surgery area for repair and that release weakens all connective tissue temporarily. People with Marfan’s are prone also..
I get my aorta checked as part of my post-op (ling cancer) medical. My mother’s side had her and 3 other siblings with aortic dissections, only her brother had his repaired. My brother has one that his doc is watching closely.
While there is no direct test, if one remains active and gets the junk out of their diet, and listens to their doctor, and takes the meds (I’m a 40+ year consumer of Lipitor (generic), you are better staged to deal with a circulatory event should one arise. I’m almost 82 and can attest to these things ganging up on you. I call this age “the red zone”, the reaper can strike any time it wishes….
If you are 40 or 50 you have been given a wake-up call by Senator Graham to get your s**t together…. If you are my age, you may have passed the event horizon.
While everyone is fixated on aortic dissection…how about the toxicology report? Hopefully it will be one where they look for everything possible because anything is possible.
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