Sunshine Sentinel

There were 905 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Florida during the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, a 2.8% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, there were 4,391 deaths in the state. 20.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21% were from cancer and 5.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.8% 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 Oct. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	920	862
Heart disease	905	931
Cerebrovascular diseases	309	315
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	205	221
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	151	139
Diabetes mellitus	137	153
Alzheimer's disease	113	128
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	85	89
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	57	65
Influenza and pneumonia	41	39

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	344	326