Volunteer State News

There were 49 deaths with cerebrovascular disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Tennessee during the week ending March 12, a 19.7% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 12, there were 1,089 deaths in the state. 21.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.4% were from cancer and 15.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.4% 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 March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Heart disease	230	282
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	168	214
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	94	182
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	78	147
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	50	69
Cerebrovascular diseases	49	61
Alzheimer's disease	36	50
Diabetes mellitus	28	29
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	13	19
Influenza and pneumonia	12	23

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Alzheimer disease and dementia	91	125