Sunshine Sentinel

There were 834 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Florida during the week ending Aug. 13, 2022, a 3.7% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 13, 2022, there were 4,326 deaths in the state. 19.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.3% were from cancer and 12.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9% 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 Aug. 13, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	877	874
Heart disease	834	866
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	331	343
Cerebrovascular diseases	297	299
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	218	226
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	208	192
Alzheimer's disease	132	122
Diabetes mellitus	117	125
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	66	77
Influenza and pneumonia	58	48

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	389	398