Yellowhammer Times

There were 284 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Alabama during the week ending September 4, a 2.7 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 4, there were 1,526 deaths in the state. 18.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 11.7 percent were from cancer and 61.7 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 5 percent 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	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	481	465
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	460	449
Heart disease	284	292
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	178	191
Cerebrovascular diseases	56	66
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	50	67
Alzheimer's disease	40	55
Diabetes mellitus	32	43
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	31	15
Influenza and pneumonia	20	13

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28
Alzheimer disease and dementia	77	97