Pelican State News

There were 181 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Louisiana during the week ending Sept. 17, 2022, a 13.1% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 17, 2022, there were 758 deaths in the state. 23.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.6% were from cancer and 6.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.5% 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 Sept. 17, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022
Heart disease	181	160
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	171	174
Cerebrovascular diseases	42	51
Alzheimer's disease	36	39
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	35	38
Diabetes mellitus	29	31
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	29	35
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	22	13
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	21	22
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	72	69