- Posted July 13, 2026
What Is An Aortic Dissection? The Condition That Killed Sen. Lindsey Graham
The sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham this weekend has drawn attention to a fast-moving and often fatal emergency: aortic dissection, a tear in the body's largest artery.
Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, died Saturday night at age 71. He had appeared healthy, which is part of what makes the condition so dangerous, according to The New York Times.
An aortic dissection is a rip in the aorta, the main artery that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body.
When the innermost of the vessel's three layers tears, blood pours into the wall and forces the layers apart, said Dr. Kendra Grubb, a heart surgeon formerly at Emory University and now at the device maker Medtronic.
The tear typically strikes without warning. Patients often describe excruciating pain that runs from the chest to the back, "like a knife to the heart," Grubb told The Times.
The condition is frequently deadly. Only about half of patients reach the hospital, and roughly half of those survive, said Dr. Michael Mack, a heart surgeon and chair of the research institute at Baylor Scott & White Health in Dallas.
An aortic dissection is the first possibility that comes to mind when someone who seemed well dies suddenly, he told The Times.
A dissection is most often caused by an underlying aortic aneurysm — a weak, balloon-like bulge in the vessel, similar to a bubble in an old bicycle tube.
Aneurysms can result from high blood pressure, atherosclerosis (a hardening of the arteries) or, more rarely, inherited conditions.
High blood pressure is the leading modifiable risk factor, according to the National Institutes of Health. The condition also becomes more common with age and is far more likely in men, who develop it about three times as often as women.
Treatment depends on where the tear is, according to The Times.
A dissection farther down the aorta can sometimes be sealed by threading a wire up from the groin and placing material inside the vessel.
A tear near the section that feeds blood to the brain requires emergency open-heart surgery. The patient is placed on a heart-lung machine, the body is cooled, and a surgeon removes the damaged section and replaces it with a fabric graft.
Because a dissection moves quickly and can mimic a heart attack, recognizing it early is critical. Sudden, severe chest or back pain, often described as tearing or ripping, warrants an immediate call to 911 rather than waiting to see if it passes.
The risk of an aortic dissection can be lowered.
Keeping blood pressure under control, not smoking, avoiding stimulant drugs such as cocaine and getting screened for inherited heart conditions when there is a family history can all reduce the chances of a tear.
More information
Visit the Mayo Clinic website for more information about aortic dissection.
SOURCES: The New York Times, July 12, 2026; National Institutes of Health, Oct. 6, 2024
