The aorta doesn't get enough respect. Even though it's uncommon, in someone who presents with chest pain, especially severe, we were trained to rule out aortic dissection before anything else. Most likely Senator Graham had a Type A dissection and longstanding hypertension. If obtained previously, an echocardiogram or other image may have revealed a widening or aneurysm of the thoracic aorta. nature.com/articles/nrdp2…

@EricTopol I have an aortic aneurysm from too small of an aortic valve prosthesis. I wrote a social security appeals brief for someone who had two aortic dissections with undiagnosed marfans. I can't help but feel bad hearing he died locked in his home with ems unable to enter