Sunshine Sentinel

There were 779 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Florida during the week ending June 4, 2022, a 10.2% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 4, 2022, there were 3,557 deaths in the state. 21.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.9% were from cancer and 6.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.2% 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 June 4, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending May 28, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	815	746
Heart disease	779	707
Cerebrovascular diseases	269	292
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	192	175
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	146	123
Diabetes mellitus	125	99
Alzheimer's disease	118	116
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	95	85
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	64	58
Influenza and pneumonia	43	35

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 4, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending May 28, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	329	359