Baltimore nonprofit Aortic Hope urges heart disease checks after Lindsey Graham’s death
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Updated: 5:46 PM EDT Jul 23, 2026Editorial Standards ⓘ
Jennifer Franciotti
News Anchor, Reporter
Baltimore nonprofit Aortic Hope urges heart disease checks after Lindsey Graham’s death
Updated: 5:46 PM EDT Jul 23, 2026Editorial Standards ⓘ
Jennifer Franciotti
News Anchor, Reporter
BALTIMORE —
A Baltimore organization urges people to know the risk factors and warning signs of heart disease after the death of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham
Carin Andersen has had multiple open-heart surgeries, an aortic aneurysm and an aortic dissection, which is a tear in the body’s main artery. It’s what led to the South Carolina senator’s death
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“I’m very lucky to be alive,” Andersen told WBAL-TV 11 News. “Aortic dissections are rare. It’s aortic disease that’s a lot more common than anybody realizes.”
Anderson has spent the last 11 years building Aortic Hope, a nonprofit organization that provides heart disease education, advocacy and a peer-support network for patients and families in Baltimore and around the world
“All of our initiatives is based in <a href="https://healthylife7.com/has-self/” title=”Has self”>selfishness turned selflessness, so things that we knew we wanted and we needed, and we created within the community,” Andersen told WBAL-TV 11 News
Knowing your family history, she said, is key to getting a diagnosis and being monitored
“Does anybody in your family have heart disease, history of stroke, diabetes or aneurysms? This is a conversation you might want to have with your primary care physician,” Andersen told WBAL-TV 11 News
She said it’s important to know the possible signs and symptoms of aortic dissections such as:
- Sudden severe sharp chest pain that may feel like tearing or ripping
- Sudden severe pain in the back between the shoulder blades
- Sudden severe abdominal pain
- Pain that may radiate to the neck, jaw, or down one or both arms
“They say often that the most typical sign is a ripping or tearing sensation. I didn’t have that. A lot of people didn’t have that. So, I try to tell people if you feel anything that feels off or different, when in doubt check it out,” Andersen told WBAL-TV 11 News
To find out more information about the Aortic Hope organization, visit its website
What is an aortic dissection? Explaining heart condition tied to Lindsey Graham’s death
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