Evergreen Reporter

There were 230 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in the state of Washington during the week ending Aug. 13, 2022, a 0.9% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 13, 2022, there were 1,273 deaths in the state. 18.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.5% were from cancer and 8.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.2% 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 Aug. 13, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	261	229
Heart disease	230	232
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	65	73
Alzheimer's disease	59	61
Cerebrovascular diseases	58	51
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	53	57
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	42	45
Diabetes mellitus	36	42
Influenza and pneumonia	11	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	130	123