Minnesota State Wire

There were 172 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending November 20, a 12.7 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending November 20, there were 1,113 deaths in the state. 15.5 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18 percent were from cancer and 37.2 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 12.7 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)	219	167
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	200	216
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	195	149
Heart disease	172	197
Alzheimer's disease	60	46
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	45	44
Cerebrovascular diseases	45	52
Diabetes mellitus	43	32
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	12	12
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-11-20	Number of Deaths 2021-11-13
Alzheimer disease and dementia	141	122