Sunshine Sentinel

There were 283 deaths with cerebrovascular disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Florida during the week ending May 15, 2021, a 7.5% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 15, 2021, there were 4,500 deaths in the state. 19.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.5% were from cancer and 13.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.4% of deaths were from Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Studies show doctors and medical examiners may underreport Alzheimer's disease and dementia-related conditions as the underlying cause of death on death certificates, according to the National Institute on Aging.

Once infected, older adults with dementia are likely to develop a more severe and dangerous illness. The diseases which make an older adult more vulnerable to COVID-19 are age-associated chronic conditions, according to the Bright Focus Foundation.

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending May 15, 2021	Deaths in Week Ending May 8, 2021
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	924	905
Heart disease	871	893
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	318	350
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	285	309
Cerebrovascular diseases	283	306
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	185	183
Diabetes mellitus	133	135
Alzheimer's disease	107	140
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	53	53
Influenza and pneumonia	51	49

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending May 15, 2021	Deaths in Week Ending May 8, 2021
Alzheimer disease and dementia	332	388