Palmetto State News

There were 43 deaths with cerebrovascular disease listed as the underlying cause reported in South Carolina during the week ending July 16, 2022, a 18.9% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 16, 2022, there were 1,006 deaths in the state. 18.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.8% were from cancer and 7.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.4% 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 July 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	219	193
Heart disease	187	182
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	45	51
Cerebrovascular diseases	43	53
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	43	33
Alzheimer's disease	40	42
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	28	24
Diabetes mellitus	26	29
Influenza and pneumonia	11	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	95	102