Yellowhammer Times

There were 289 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Alabama during the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, a 2.8% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, there were 1,111 deaths in the state. 26% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.1% were from cancer and 3.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.1% 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 Oct. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Heart disease	289	281
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	190	209
Cerebrovascular diseases	62	70
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	59	55
Alzheimer's disease	46	46
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	29	23
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	26	21
Diabetes mellitus	18	25
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	17	20
Influenza and pneumonia	15	20

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	90	100