Yellowhammer Times

There were 222 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Alabama during the week ending Aug. 13, 2022, a 5.1% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 13, 2022, there were 980 deaths in the state. 22.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.9% were from cancer and 11.7% 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 Aug. 13, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022
Heart disease	222	234
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	185	182
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	64	63
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	57	58
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	51	52
Cerebrovascular diseases	48	60
Alzheimer's disease	43	48
Diabetes mellitus	24	21
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	21	19
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	18

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	83	91