Bluegrass Times

There were 221 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending August 28, a 2.3 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending August 28, there were 1,133 deaths in the state. 19.5 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 14.8 percent were from cancer and 43 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.6 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 2021-08-28	Number of Deaths 2021-08-21
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	252	211
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	235	189
Heart disease	221	216
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	168	196
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	51	59
Cerebrovascular diseases	44	45
Alzheimer's disease	29	38
Diabetes mellitus	27	20
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	21	21
Influenza and pneumonia	18	13

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28	Number of Deaths 2021-08-21
Alzheimer disease and dementia	86	85