Sunshine Sentinel

There were 782 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Florida during the week ending July 9, 2022, a 1.5% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 9, 2022, there were 3,696 deaths in the state. 21.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.6% were from cancer and 11.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.3% 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 July 9, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 2, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	800	781
Heart disease	782	794
Cerebrovascular diseases	258	310
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	258	224
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	178	147
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	169	170
Diabetes mellitus	134	115
Alzheimer's disease	112	122
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	59	62
Influenza and pneumonia	49	40

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 2, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	379	389