Evergreen Reporter

There were 51 deaths from cerebrovascular diseases reported in the state of Washington in the week ending July 22, making up 4.5% of total deaths by all causes in the state of Washington, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 22, there were 1,137 deaths in the state. 17.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22% were from cancer and less than 0.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.6% 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	% of Total Deaths
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	250	22
Heart disease	195	17.2
Alzheimer's disease	54	4.7
Cerebrovascular diseases	51	4.5
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	45	4
Diabetes mellitus	34	3
Influenza and pneumonia	11	1
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 0.9
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 0.9
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	< 0.9

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	121	10.6