"Figure 4: In Wales, ischaemic heart diseases were the leading cause of death in August 2021, while COVID-19 rose to the seventh leading cause ","" "Age-standardised mortality rate for selected leading causes of death, per 100,000 people, Wales, deaths registered in August 2021 ","" "","" "Notes","1. Age-standardised mortality rates per 100,000 population, standardised to the 2013 European Standard Population. Monthly rates are adjusted to allow for comparisons with annual rates. For more information, see [Section 10: Measuring the data](https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/monthlymortalityanalysisenglandandwales/august2021#measuring-the-data ""Section 10: Measuring the data"") 2. Figures for 2021 are based on provisional mortality data and projected populations. 3. ""COVID-19” includes only deaths where COVID-19 was the underlying cause of death. 4. Figures exclude deaths of non-residents. 5. The five-year average has been provided for 2015 to 2019 (rather than 2016 to 2020) because of the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on deaths registered in 2020. The average for 2015 to 2019 provides a comparison of the number of deaths expected per month in a usual (non-pandemic) year. 6. Leading causes are ranked based on number of deaths, not age-standardised mortality rates." "Unit","Age-standardised mortality rates " "","" "Leading cause","August 2021","5-year average" "Ischaemic heart diseases","108.7","102.7" "Dementia and Alzheimer disease","94.9","95.2" "Malignant neoplasm of trachea bronchus and lung","49.8","54.8" "Cerebrovascular diseases","46.1","56.0" "Chronic lower respiratory diseases","45.8","43.1" "Symptoms signs and ill-defined conditions","28.2","20.7" "COVID-19","24.5",":" "Malignant neoplasm of colon sigmoid rectum and anus","23.9","29.6" "Influenza and pneumonia","19.6","44.3" "Cirrhosis and other diseases of liver","20.1","15.0"