Natural State News

There were 25 deaths with cerebrovascular disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Arkansas during the week ending Aug. 13, 2022, a 13.8% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 13, 2022, there were 668 deaths in the state. 20.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.3% were from cancer and 9.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.2% 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 Aug. 13, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	142	116
Heart disease	134	131
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	37	44
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	34	39
Alzheimer's disease	27	25
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	27	29
Cerebrovascular diseases	25	29
Diabetes mellitus	24	21
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	17	12
Influenza and pneumonia	10	10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	68	46