Grand Canyon Times

There were 49 deaths with cerebrovascular disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Arizona during the week ending May 29, a 15.5 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 29, there were 1,242 deaths in the state. 20 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.5 percent were from cancer and 6.7 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.5 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 2021-05-29	Number of Deaths 2021-05-22
Heart disease	248	236
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	230	230
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	66	54
Cerebrovascular diseases	49	58
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	46	52
Alzheimer's disease	43	53
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	37	44
Diabetes mellitus	36	37
Influenza and pneumonia	22	18
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	19

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-05-29	Number of Deaths 2021-05-22
Alzheimer disease and dementia	93	124