Pelican State News

There were 39 deaths with cerebrovascular disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Louisiana during the week ending June 4, 2022, a 15.2% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 4, 2022, there were 659 deaths in the state. 28.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.3% were from cancer and less than 1.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.5% 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 June 4, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending May 28, 2022
Heart disease	188	160
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	134	142
Cerebrovascular diseases	39	46
Alzheimer's disease	37	32
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	34	24
Diabetes mellitus	29	21
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	19
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	11

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 4, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending May 28, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	76	59