Minnesota State Wire

There were 174 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Minnesota during the week ending Sept. 24, 2022, a 5.5% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 24, 2022, there were 956 deaths in the state. 18.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.6% were from cancer and 7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.5% 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 Sept. 24, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	197	199
Heart disease	174	165
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	41	46
Cerebrovascular diseases	38	41
Diabetes mellitus	36	34
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	34	43
Alzheimer's disease	31	38
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	26	27
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	11

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	91	100