But think that's what killed Lucille Ball.

Last edited Sun Jul 12, 2026, 09:02 PM - Edit history (1)

I had time to drive myself to the emergency department. (I don't recommend this.)

People experience things differently.

Edit: mine involved an artery, rather than aorta.

Also adding edit: I had no idea I was at risk. No high cholesterol, no blockages, no hypertension. One day it just blew without warning. I was experiencing a lot of stress leading up to the event.

I gotta wonder if that phone call with Trump upset Graham.

Sometimes the tear is big and blood loss massive.

If it happens to the big aorta - curtains.

I had a Spontaneous Arterial Dissection involving a minor artery. I recovered fully after emergency insertion of a stent.

When it involves a big aorta - as with Graham - the outcome is not good.

I know someone who experienced it on a cruise and lived only because they happened to be docked in a country with excellent medical facilities. Perfectly healthy until his aorta started falling apart.

Sometimes called 'The Widowmaker'.

Bleeds out into body center, slowly depriving brain of O2 until brain shuts off the whole system. There was a bit of time between feeling something very wrong and losing consciousness then brain death. He still had a pulse when EMS arrived and they kept working en route and at the ER, but the brain was not getting the blood and O2, brain already gone and wouldn't restart heart/lungs.

A friend also died that way.

Friend died in Helena, Montana just after the state's 911 system went from local operators to a central location in Billings, ("cost saving&quot a couple hundred miles + away. Most people didn't know of the change yet. My friend's wife didn't know she was speaking to someone in Billings. Billings operator didn't know she had someone in Helena on the line, sent her local EMS team to the address given address, but in the wrong city.

His wife blamed herself for EMS not getting to the house 'in time' She did CPR for an hour before Billings 911 realized the mistake, sent call to Helena and that local EMS team finally got to her door. Doctor who did autopsy told her there would have been nothing they could do if he had been on an operating table when it happened (40 years ago). But, of course, she still thought she should have been able to save him.

I know the feeling.

A cerebral hemorrhage instead of aortic dissection, but similar scenario. She was on the phone with my aunt and said her vision was going out and she felt like she was going to collapse. My aunt said she was calling 911. My grandma said she'd unlock the kitchen door.

She never made it to the door. She fell right in front of it. The paramedics ended up going around the back to get in.

Things happen that fast.

Locked door and everything! Wow!

My mom felt crappy all day (really bad headache) and my dad kinda didn't know what to do with her. She had alot of health problems and just figured it was a bad case of aches and pains. Around 5:30 pm, she appeared to have a seizure. She lost conciousness fairly quickly. And after numerous scans, she was removed from life support the next morning. She died about 40 hours after being removed from life support.

My grandmother was at the senior center playing cards and collapsed. She died a few hours later. No telling if she had a headache or anything ahead of time. She may have been on a ventilator for a short time.

A friend of mine had a cousin, who had a headache for months. She went out on a boat with her boyfriend and started screaming, "My headache!!!"

So yes, you are wrong.
It sounds like he called his niece because he had chest pains, then dropped dead before medics even arrived. Which fits with aortic dissection scenario.
"Symptoms
An aortic dissection may feel like a heart attack or another heart condition. Symptoms of aortic dissection may include:

Sudden severe chest or upper back pain that spreads to the neck or back. The pain may feel like something is tearing or ripping.
Sudden severe stomach pain.
Loss of consciousness.
Shortness of breath.
Symptoms like those of a stroke, including sudden vision problems, trouble speaking, and weakness or loss of movement on one side of the body.
Leg pain and trouble walking."
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/aortic-dissection/symptoms-causes/syc-20369496

My event was a Spontaneous Arterial Dissection, so nowhere near as serious as an aortic dissection. I was eating lunch with a colleague and had sudden indigestion. I took a couple Tums but felt worse. I felt restless, slightly short of breath, sort of low key agitated. Minor pain in left arm.

I remembered from grad school that women's heart attacks can present differently, which is why I drive myself to the ED, walked in and told them I thought I might be having a heart attack. They grabbed me and did emergency surgery. I have no permanent damage.

I could possibly have just gone home to try to sleep it off and that would have been bad.

It was locked when medics got there.

Read more carefully.



ON EDIT: As should I (see below)!

An aortic dissection seems very likely.

And while they come on quickly, they do not have to be instantaneous.

I am not suggesting anything other than what the coroner is saying.

Who provided the information about where she was and where she was going.

Misread the part about her being near BWI.

Thanks for the correction!