Sooner State News

There were 25 deaths with cerebrovascular disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Oklahoma during the week ending June 17, a 16.7% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 17, there were 751 deaths in the state. 29.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.6% were from cancer and less than 1.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.9% 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 June 17	Deaths in Week Ending June 10
Heart disease	221	218
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	140	158
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	60	50
Cerebrovascular diseases	25	30
Alzheimer's disease	24	25
Diabetes mellitus	19	19
Influenza and pneumonia	11	13
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	12

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 17	Deaths in Week Ending June 10
Alzheimer disease and dementia	52	67