Sunflower State News

There were 82 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Kansas during the week ending May 7, 2022, a 8.9% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 7, 2022, there were 409 deaths in the state. 20% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.9% were from cancer and 5.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.8% 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 May 7, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 30, 2022
Heart disease	82	90
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	69	77
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	36	27
Cerebrovascular diseases	21	16
Alzheimer's disease	14	12
Diabetes mellitus	13	13
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	12	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	10	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending May 7, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 30, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	44	51