Constitution State News

There were 20 deaths with cerebrovascular disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Connecticut during the week ending August 7, a 20 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending August 7, there were 386 deaths in the state. 23.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.2 percent were from cancer and 6.2 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.3 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 2021-08-07	Number of Deaths 2021-07-31
Heart disease	89	101
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	78	128
Cerebrovascular diseases	20	25
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	19	25
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	13	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	11	13
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	11	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-08-07	Number of Deaths 2021-07-31
Alzheimer disease and dementia	36	53