Senator Lindsey Graham died over the weekend due to an “aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease”, according to preliminary findings from the Medical Examiner of the District of Columbia.
Graham’s family announced over the weekend that the 71-year-old had passed away from “a brief and sudden illness.”
An aortic dissection is a life-threatening medical emergency that results from a tear in the inner layer of the aorta, the body’s main artery that receives blood from the heart and delivers it to the body, according to the Society of Vascular Surgery.
This tear enables blood to flow between the layers of the aorta, potentially preventing sufficient blood flow to vital organs. Symptoms of an aortic dissection often occur suddenly and include severe chest or back pain that resembles a heart attack.
Additional symptoms can include severe abdominal pain, fainting, shortness of breath, leg pain or weakness, difficulty walking, and stroke-like symptoms such as sudden loss of vision, speech difficulty or weakness, according to the Society of Vascular Surgery.
Aortic dissections, although rare, are more prevalent among men in their 60s and 70s. Smoking, high blood pressure, and genetic connective tissue disorders increase the risk, in addition to trauma.
At the White House, flags were lowered to half-staff. In a later post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump ordered that all American flags must fly at half-staff until Saturday at 6 p.m.
Former President George W. Bush said Graham “understood how the world works and how important America’s international engagement is to resist tyranny.”
“He was a powerful advocate for America who believed strongly in the NATO Alliance and was actively working to bring an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine,” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told NBC’s “Meet the Press”: “America has lost a great patriot. Israel has lost one of the great champions of the American-Israeli alliance. And frankly, I’ve lost a beloved friend who I’ve had for many decades.”
