Garden State Times

There were 334 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in New Jersey during the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, a 6.4% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, there were 1,461 deaths in the state. 22.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.5% were from cancer and 6.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.7% 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 Oct. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Heart disease	334	357
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	271	303
Cerebrovascular diseases	67	73
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	63	75
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	54	45
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	40	33
Alzheimer's disease	40	50
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	37	42
Diabetes mellitus	25	29
Influenza and pneumonia	20	18

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	127	137