Evergreen Reporter

There were 233 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in the state of Washington during the week ending Sept. 17, 2022, a 1.3% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 17, 2022, there were 1,212 deaths in the state. 19.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.8% were from cancer and 5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.6% 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. 17, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	252	290
Heart disease	233	236
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	62	39
Alzheimer's disease	61	67
Cerebrovascular diseases	54	45
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	37	51
Diabetes mellitus	26	32
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	23	31
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	12
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	128	125