Keystone Today

There were 109 deaths with cerebrovascular disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Pennsylvania during the week ending May 1, 2021, a 23.8% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 1, 2021, there were 2,642 deaths in the state. 21.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.1% were from cancer and 18.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.1% 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 1, 2021	Deaths in Week Ending April 24, 2021
Heart disease	579	585
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	504	501
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	252	324
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	234	289
Cerebrovascular diseases	109	143
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	101	111
Diabetes mellitus	82	68
Alzheimer's disease	67	72
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	53	65
Influenza and pneumonia	28	27

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending May 1, 2021	Deaths in Week Ending April 24, 2021
Alzheimer disease and dementia	213	189