Grand Canyon Times

There were 256 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Arizona during the week ending September 4, a 5.9 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 4, there were 1,603 deaths in the state. 16 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 14.3 percent were from cancer and 31.6 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.2 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 2021-09-04	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	261	207
Heart disease	256	272
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	245	197
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	230	246
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	78	61
Alzheimer's disease	70	54
Diabetes mellitus	60	41
Cerebrovascular diseases	60	66
Influenza and pneumonia	18	13
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	14	16

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28
Alzheimer disease and dementia	132	119