Evergreen Reporter

There were 241 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in the state of Washington during the week ending Oct. 15, 2022, a 18.1% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 15, 2022, there were 1,221 deaths in the state. 19.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.6% were from cancer and 4.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.9% 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 Oct. 15, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	252	257
Heart disease	241	204
Alzheimer's disease	66	57
Cerebrovascular diseases	60	54
Diabetes mellitus	49	42
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	45	50
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	34	42
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	21	21
Influenza and pneumonia	10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	11

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	133	128