Minnesota State Wire

There were 138 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending July 24, a 9.8 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 24, there were 783 deaths in the state. 17.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.9 percent were from cancer and 1.3 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 12.1 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 2021-07-24	Number of Deaths 2021-07-17
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	179	189
Heart disease	138	153
Alzheimer's disease	41	45
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	39	40
Cerebrovascular diseases	35	40
Diabetes mellitus	20	31
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	10	13
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	11
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-07-24	Number of Deaths 2021-07-17
Alzheimer disease and dementia	95	96