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.”
Arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, meanwhile, is a condition where arteries become stiff and damaged, making it harder for blood to flow properly.
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.
In a joint statement, the medical examiner’s office and the Metropolitan Police Department said police are leading an investigation into Graham’s death, according to Fox News Congressional Correspondent Chad Pergram.
“The cause and manner of death will be determined by the District of Columbia’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME),” the joint statement read.
According to the statement, Graham was pronounced dead at George Washington University Hospital at 10:23 p.m. on Saturday.
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.
Shortly before emergency responders were called to his house, Graham spoke to a person who told Axios that the senator complained of feeling unwell.
The person urged Graham to seek immediate medical attention, but he brushed it off, saying he would go to see a doctor on Sunday morning after his scheduled appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, according to the Axios report.
“I can’t die now,” joked Graham, who had returned from a trip to Ukraine just hours before. “I still need to do the Russia sanctions, get Iran sorted out, and do Israeli-Saudi normalization.”
Before speaking to the person, Graham spoke over the phone with President Donald Trump.
“He sounded a little tired, but perfect, but a little bit tired,” Trump told NBC News’ Meet the Press on Sunday, adding that Graham “sounded great actually.”
There was no indication Graham was feeling unwell prior to his death, a top staffer told NBC News early Sunday, and there had been no known concerns over Graham’s health.
