Garden State Times

There were 301 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in New Jersey during the week ending June 18, 2022, a 1.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 18, 2022, there were 1,246 deaths in the state. 24.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.4% were from cancer and 4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.8% 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 18, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022
Heart disease	301	297
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	254	248
Cerebrovascular diseases	56	54
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	55	39
Diabetes mellitus	41	34
Alzheimer's disease	35	42
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	32	54
Influenza and pneumonia	20	12
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	19	38
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	18	37

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	110	112