Pelican State News

There were 194 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Louisiana during the week ending May 1, 2021, a 10.6% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 1, 2021, there were 828 deaths in the state. 23.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.1% were from cancer and 9.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.8% 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 May 1, 2021	Deaths in Week Ending April 24, 2021
Heart disease	194	217
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	175	179
Cerebrovascular diseases	46	56
Alzheimer's disease	40	42
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	40	33
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	37	28
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	36	42
Diabetes mellitus	34	25
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	17	14
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending May 1, 2021	Deaths in Week Ending April 24, 2021
Alzheimer disease and dementia	73	67