Garden State Times

There were 279 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in New Jersey during the week ending June 4, 2022, a 3.8% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 4, 2022, there were 1,211 deaths in the state. 23% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.3% were from cancer and 7.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.6% 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 June 4, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending May 28, 2022
Heart disease	279	290
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	258	287
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	57	55
Cerebrovascular diseases	52	55
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	52	63
Alzheimer's disease	38	39
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	36	46
Diabetes mellitus	30	38
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	24	19
Influenza and pneumonia	20	23

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 4, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending May 28, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	104	121