Evergreen Reporter

There were 210 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in the state of Washington during the week ending Aug. 27, 2022, a 13.2% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 27, 2022, there were 1,200 deaths in the state. 17.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.2% were from cancer and 5.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10% 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. 27, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	254	244
Heart disease	210	242
Alzheimer's disease	65	62
Cerebrovascular diseases	60	54
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	52	41
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	43	59
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	26	39
Diabetes mellitus	23	28
Influenza and pneumonia	13	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	15

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 27, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	120	137