Bluegrass Times

There were 194 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending July 10, a 0.5 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 10, there were 885 deaths in the state. 21.9 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.8 percent were from cancer and 6 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.9 percent 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	Number of Deaths 2021-07-10	Number of Deaths 2021-07-03
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	202	187
Heart disease	194	193
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	60	64
Cerebrovascular diseases	45	49
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	30	22
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	29	30
Diabetes mellitus	27	30
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	24	22
Alzheimer's disease	19	23
Influenza and pneumonia	10	10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-07-10	Number of Deaths 2021-07-03
Alzheimer disease and dementia	70	74