Natural State News

There were 34 deaths with cerebrovascular disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Arkansas during the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, a 41.7% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, there were 683 deaths in the state. 25% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.9% were from cancer and 4.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.9% 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 Oct. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Heart disease	171	138
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	129	131
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	46	64
Cerebrovascular diseases	34	24
Alzheimer's disease	24	26
Diabetes mellitus	22	25
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	18	12
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	11	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	10	11
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	61	57