Garden State Times

There were 342 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in New Jersey during the week ending Aug. 6, 2022, a 0.9% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 6, 2022, there were 1,423 deaths in the state. 24% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19% were from cancer and 6% 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 Aug. 6, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022
Heart disease	342	339
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	271	292
Cerebrovascular diseases	57	65
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	51	66
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	47	47
Diabetes mellitus	46	26
Alzheimer's disease	45	44
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	35	46
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	25	18
Influenza and pneumonia	13	15

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	126	113