Sunshine Sentinel

There were 765 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Florida during the week ending June 18, 2022, a 4.9% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 18, 2022, there were 3,640 deaths in the state. 21% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.8% were from cancer and 9.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.5% 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 18, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	794	843
Heart disease	765	804
Cerebrovascular diseases	287	274
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	204	166
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	196	186
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	148	115
Diabetes mellitus	122	104
Alzheimer's disease	115	123
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	77	67
Influenza and pneumonia	54	53

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	346	351