Minnesota State Wire

There were 139 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending Dec. 25, a 22.8 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 25, there were 951 deaths in the state. 14.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.6 percent were from cancer and 37.5 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 12.5 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 2021-12-25	Number of Deaths 2021-12-18
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	190	255
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	177	219
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	167	225
Heart disease	139	180
Alzheimer's disease	50	61
Cerebrovascular diseases	47	43
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	44	28
Diabetes mellitus	21	41
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	24
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-12-25	Number of Deaths 2021-12-18
Alzheimer disease and dementia	119	109