Grand Canyon Times

There were 297 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Arizona during the week ending November 20, a 2.4 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending November 20, there were 1,722 deaths in the state. 17.2 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 13 percent were from cancer and 41.2 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.9 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 2021-11-20	Number of Deaths 2021-11-13
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	372	343
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	338	312
Heart disease	297	290
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	223	258
Cerebrovascular diseases	82	54
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	74	82
Alzheimer's disease	52	58
Diabetes mellitus	49	51
Influenza and pneumonia	28	17
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	27	21

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-11-20	Number of Deaths 2021-11-13
Alzheimer disease and dementia	118	130