Garden State Times

There were 300 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in New Jersey during the week ending August 7, a 8 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending August 7, there were 1,383 deaths in the state. 21.7 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.3 percent were from cancer and 5.5 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7 percent 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	Number of Deaths 2021-08-07	Number of Deaths 2021-07-31
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	308	278
Heart disease	300	326
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	49	50
Cerebrovascular diseases	49	63
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	38	26
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	38	30
Alzheimer's disease	32	28
Diabetes mellitus	31	45
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	24	26
Influenza and pneumonia	20	18

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-08-07	Number of Deaths 2021-07-31
Alzheimer disease and dementia	97	89