Ocean State Today

There were less than 10 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Rhode Island during the week ending December 11, a decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending December 11, there were 27 deaths in the state. Less than 37 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, less than 37 percent were from cancer and less than 37 percent were from COVID-19.

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 2021-12-11	Number of Deaths 2021-12-04
Alzheimer's disease	< 10	10
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	< 10	< 10
Cerebrovascular diseases	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	12
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	14
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	< 10	23
Heart disease	< 10	33
Influenza and pneumonia	0	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	0	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	0	< 10