Grand Canyon Times

There were 264 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Arizona during the week ending Oct. 1, 2022, a 3.1% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 1, 2022, there were 1,266 deaths in the state. 20.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.4% were from cancer and 4.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.3% 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. 1, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022
Heart disease	264	256
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	258	242
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	59	59
Cerebrovascular diseases	57	53
Alzheimer's disease	55	54
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	40	34
Diabetes mellitus	39	36
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	22	22
Influenza and pneumonia	16	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	15	20

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 1, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	131	124