Los Angeles.- U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of President Donald Trump, died due to a torn artery, according to the preliminary report from the District of Columbia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner released this Sunday.
“The preliminary findings of the examination were: Aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease,” the coroner explained in a brief statement.
They clarified that the death certificate will remain in “pending status” until all toxicological and microscopic tests are concluded; at that time, the document will be updated to reflect the cause of death and thus properly classify the cause of death.
An aortic dissection is a serious condition in which a tear occurs in the inner layer of the body’s main artery, the aorta.
Blood shoots through the tear, causing the inner and middle layers of the aorta to separate. If blood breaks through the outer aortic wall, the aortic dissection is often fatal, as described by the Mayo Clinic.
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Senator Graham’s medical care
Graham’s office had merely stated that the 71-year-old senator had passed away Saturday night following a brief and sudden illness. The senator had returned from Ukraine just a few days prior.
This Sunday, the audio of the emergency services’ response was also released, in which it was detailed that a woman called to report that the senator was suffering from chest pain, according to TMZ.
The woman, whose identity has not been revealed, called from Baltimore (Maryland) and said that the senator was alone.
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Initially, paramedics were unable to access Graham’s home because the door was locked, but they eventually managed to begin cardiopulmonary resuscitation maneuvers.
It is unclear whether Graham died at his residence or if they managed to get him to the hospital.
The senator was serving his fourth consecutive six-year term in the Senate and was one of the toughest Republican voices on Iran and most supportive of Israel and Ukraine.
