Pregnant NC Officer Dies After Doctors Delay Lifesaving Care

A North Carolina police officer who feared her pregnancy would kill her died after failing to get either urgent heart treatment or a timely abortion, despite repeatedly seeking help from doctors and clinics. Medical experts who later reviewed the case say 34-year-old Ciji Graham's death was likely preventable and illustrates how abortion restrictions and gaps in cardiac training are reshaping care for high-risk pregnancies. ProPublica takes a deep dive.

Graham, who had a history of atrial fibrillation and thyroid disease, showed up at a cardiologist's office on Nov. 14, 2023, with a heart rate of 192 beats per minute and symptoms including severe palpitations and shortness of breath. An EKG confirmed A-fib — a dangerous rhythm that can lead to stroke or heart failure. In the past, doctors had restored her rhythm with an electrical shock procedure called cardioversion. This time, after a pregnancy test turned up positive, her cardiologist didn't offer that treatment. Instead, the doctor instructed Graham to consult other doctors first and sent her home.

A second cardiologist the next day planned a cardioversion in three weeks and started a blood thinner, but that doctor didn't repeat an EKG to confirm that Graham's heart rate had stabilized. At least a dozen cardiologists and maternal-fetal medicine specialists told ProPublica that Graham should've been admitted immediately and either treated with IV drugs or shocked back into rhythm, pregnancy or not. A leading professional society says cardioversion is considered safe during pregnancy, and several experts said the risk of inaction far exceeded any potential risk to the fetus.

Believing the pregnancy put her life in danger, Graham sought an abortion. But North Carolina's 12-week ban, an in-person consent requirement, and an influx of out-of-state patients meant the first available clinic appointment was nearly two weeks away. Five days after seeing the first cardiologist, Graham was found dead at home. The medical examiner cited cardiac arrhythmia related to atrial fibrillation "in the setting of recent pregnancy." Three physicians who sit on maternal mortality review panels called Graham's death preventable, saying there were multiple points where standard care could have averted it. Graham left behind a 2-year-old son and a family now asking why, in a region that has tightened abortion laws in the name of protecting life, no one managed to protect hers. More here.