Garden State Times

There were 287 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in New Jersey during the week ending June 17, a 12.2% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 17, there were 1,380 deaths in the state. 20.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.7% were from cancer and less than 0.7% 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 17	Deaths in Week Ending June 10
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	300	255
Heart disease	287	327
Cerebrovascular diseases	57	69
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	54	33
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	45	39
Alzheimer's disease	37	42
Diabetes mellitus	30	46
Influenza and pneumonia	11	24
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 17	Deaths in Week Ending June 10
Alzheimer disease and dementia	121	116