Bluegrass Times

There were 201 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, a 4.7% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, there were 1,001 deaths in the state. 20.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.1% were from cancer and 6.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.3% 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)	201	190
Heart disease	201	192
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	54	55
Cerebrovascular diseases	46	39
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	41	57
Diabetes mellitus	38	28
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	28	23
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	25	34
Alzheimer's disease	23	29
Influenza and pneumonia	20	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	83	109