Grand Canyon Times

There were 227 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Arizona during the week ending June 5, a 8.5 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 5, there were 1,316 deaths in the state. 17.2 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.6 percent were from cancer and 5.2 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.1 percent 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	Number of Deaths 2021-06-05	Number of Deaths 2021-05-29
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	232	230
Heart disease	227	248
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	76	66
Cerebrovascular diseases	56	49
Diabetes mellitus	45	36
Alzheimer's disease	41	43
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	37	46
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	32	37
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	11
Influenza and pneumonia	10	22

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-06-05	Number of Deaths 2021-05-29
Alzheimer disease and dementia	94	93