Old North News

There were 58 deaths with cerebrovascular disease listed as the underlying cause reported in North Carolina during the week ending Feb. 26, a 3.3 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Feb. 26, there were 880 deaths in the state. 16.3 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.3 percent were from cancer and 21.8 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 2022-02-26	Number of Deaths 2022-02-19
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	161	191
Heart disease	143	191
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	110	171
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	82	122
Cerebrovascular diseases	58	60
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	43	51
Alzheimer's disease	38	38
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	21	17
Diabetes mellitus	19	22
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	11

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-02-26	Number of Deaths 2022-02-19
Alzheimer disease and dementia	82	107