Yellowhammer Times

There were 178 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Alabama during the week ending April 23, 2022, a 14.4% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 23, 2022, there were 637 deaths in the state. 27.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16% were from cancer and 3.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.5% 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 April 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022
Heart disease	178	208
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	102	132
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	41	51
Alzheimer's disease	31	39
Cerebrovascular diseases	29	51
Diabetes mellitus	20	21
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	14	20
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	14	12
Influenza and pneumonia	12	10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	11	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending April 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	54	71