Garden State Times

There were 261 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in New Jersey during the week ending April 16, 2022, a 0.8% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 16, 2022, there were 1,048 deaths in the state. 24.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.7% were from cancer and 3.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.9% 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 April 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 9, 2022
Heart disease	261	263
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	227	213
Cerebrovascular diseases	52	48
Alzheimer's disease	39	32
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	33	50
Diabetes mellitus	23	23
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	20	20
Influenza and pneumonia	17	18
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	16	18
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	14	15

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 9, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	93	98