Richard Nixon died after suffering a major stroke that was caused by a blood clot traveling to his brain.

He experienced the stroke (a cerebrovascular accident) at his home in Park Ridge, New Jersey, on April 18, 1994, and was taken to New York Hospital–Cornell Medical Center in New York City. Doctors determined that a clot, linked to an existing heart condition, had formed in his heart, broken off, and lodged in his brain, leading to severe brain injury. His condition worsened over several days as brain swelling developed, and he fell into a deep coma. Nixon died in the hospital on April 22, 1994, at age 81.