Garden State Times

There were 322 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in New Jersey during the week ending Aug. 13, 2022, a 5.8% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 13, 2022, there were 1,346 deaths in the state. 23.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.7% were from cancer and 7.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.3% 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. 13, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022
Heart disease	322	342
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	278	271
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	60	51
Cerebrovascular diseases	50	57
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	42	47
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	39	25
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	37	35
Alzheimer's disease	30	45
Diabetes mellitus	26	46
Influenza and pneumonia	13	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	112	126