Old North News

There were 365 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in North Carolina during the week ending June 18, 2022, a 2% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 18, 2022, there were 1,610 deaths in the state. 22.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22% were from cancer and 5.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10% 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	365	358
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	355	398
Cerebrovascular diseases	107	81
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	70	79
Alzheimer's disease	69	75
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	56	67
Diabetes mellitus	45	51
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	37	37
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	37	51
Influenza and pneumonia	17	25

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 18, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	161	207