Graham Died From Aortic Tear, Initial Tests Show

“WASHINGTON -- Sen. Lindsey Graham died of an aortic tear due to cardiovascular disease, according to preliminary findings by the District of Columbia medical examiner.

 

Graham's office announced the findings late Sunday and said a death certificate will remain pending until all toxicological and microscopic testing is finalized.

 

Test results could take weeks, law-enforcement officials said.

 

Emergency responders sent to Graham's home Saturday night performed CPR on an individual suffering from cardiac arrest, according to dispatch audio reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

 

Shortly before 8:30 p.m. Saturday, D.C.'s Fire and EMS responded to a report of chest pains at a home on South Capitol Street, a few blocks south of the U.S. Capitol, that public records list as one of Graham's addresses.

 

Minutes later, officials radioed that a caller who reached 911 -- an unidentified woman who said she wasn't in the home and was driving from Baltimore to the address -- had told dispatchers his front door was unlocked.

 

But crews on scene reported the deadbolt was secured, and said they were getting no answer. "Have you tried knocking at the door to see if the patient will answer?" the dispatcher asked. "Yes, repeatedly," they replied, according to audio captured by openmhz.com.

 

At 8:35 p.m., after a dispatcher asked whether they wanted a ladder truck or the police, officials responded that they would force entry and requested help from D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department.

 

More than 15 minutes later, responders radioed that CPR was in progress. Dispatchers sent an EMS supervisor to assist crews on scene with a "cardiac arrest."

 

The dispatch calls don't mention Graham by name, and referred to the patient as being 73 years old. The senator was 71.

 

Sen. Ron Johnson (R., Wis.). noted that Graham's father died of a heart attack.

 

President Trump, speaking to CNN, said Graham called him Saturday evening around 6:30 and reported that his latest trip to Ukraine had gone well. "He said, 'I'm tired because it's a long trip,' but other than that he was fine," Trump said.

 

In a social-media post on Sunday morning, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel said his agency "is assisting local authorities and has made every necessary resource available."” [1]

 

1. U.S. News: Graham Died From Aortic Tear, Initial Tests Show. Gillum, Jack; Gurman, Sadie; Hughes, Siobhan.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 13 July 2026: A4.