Yellowhammer Times

There were 239 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Alabama during the week ending June 24, a 7.7% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 24, there were 1,019 deaths in the state. 23.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.2% were from cancer and 1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.1% 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 24	Deaths in Week Ending June 17
Heart disease	239	259
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	175	194
Cerebrovascular diseases	62	55
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	46	40
Alzheimer's disease	39	39
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	31	29
Diabetes mellitus	24	26
Influenza and pneumonia	14	15
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 24	Deaths in Week Ending June 17
Alzheimer disease and dementia	83	86