Sunshine Sentinel

There were 662 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Florida during the week ending April 9, 2022, a 3.1% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 9, 2022, there were 3,001 deaths in the state. 22.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.9% were from cancer and 4.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.8% 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 April 9, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 2, 2022
Heart disease	662	683
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	627	738
Cerebrovascular diseases	231	260
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	151	174
Diabetes mellitus	99	86
Alzheimer's disease	85	93
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	77	97
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	48	59
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	38	46
Influenza and pneumonia	34	45

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending April 9, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 2, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	265	276