Pelican State News

There were 215 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Louisiana during the week ending May 22, 2021, a 16.2% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 22, 2021, there were 806 deaths in the state. 26.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.4% were from cancer and 7.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.3% 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 May 22, 2021	Deaths in Week Ending May 15, 2021
Heart disease	215	185
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	156	159
Cerebrovascular diseases	49	50
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	38	27
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	32	40
Diabetes mellitus	31	29
Alzheimer's disease	30	35
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	28	37
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	25	25
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	15

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending May 22, 2021	Deaths in Week Ending May 15, 2021
Alzheimer disease and dementia	51	67