Bluegrass Times

There were 61 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending Feb. 5, a 47.4 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Feb. 5, there were 357 deaths in the state. 17.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.2 percent were from cancer and 61.6 percent were from COVID-19.

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 2022-02-05	Number of Deaths 2022-01-29
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	117	196
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	103	171
Heart disease	61	116
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	58	111
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	17	36
Alzheimer's disease	11	21
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	19
Cerebrovascular diseases	< 10	25