Doctor reveals key family history behind Lindsey Graham's surprise death

The abrupt passing of Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham took almost everyone by surprise, but as one doctor pointed out on Fox News, his family medical history may have put him at a much higher risk of a major medical episode, especially considering his recent excursion to Ukraine.

Graham, a South Carolina Republican, built a reputation over the last decade as a staunch political ally of President Donald Trump, especially when it came to his recent war with Iran. This marked a shift from earlier in his career, when he was notably opposed to Trump's 20216 presidential run, and considered himself a close ally of the late Sen. John McCain, one of Trump's most hated Republicans.

On Saturday evening, reports emerged that Graham had passed away following a "brief and sudden illness," with later reports indicating that he died from cardiac arrest. During a Sunday appearance on Fox News, Dr. Marc Siegel, a senior medical analyst for the conservative network, revealed that the senator had a close family history of heart disease, with his father dying from a heart attack when Graham was just 20.

Given that Graham had completed a trip to Ukraine immediately prior to his sudden passing, Siegel said that he was at an elevated risk of cardiac arrest, given his family history and advanced age.

"A long plane flight from Ukraine increases his risk of blood clotting,” Siegel said. “There’s 350,000 per year out-of-the hospital cardiac arrests. Only 10 percent of them make it because, as you can imagine, you can’t get there fast enough to restart the heart right away.”

He added: “The vast majority don’t make it, and most of the time it’s heart disease that causes this... Now, none of that is known, and I'm not suggesting that's the cause, I'm giving you the statistics of what's likely. Especially at his age, you start to see sudden heart disease occurring, and sudden heart attacks occurring right around that age.”

Graham, 71, was only three years older than his father was at the time of passing from a heart attack.