Natural State News

There were 139 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Arkansas during the week ending Aug. 20, 2022, a 3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 20, 2022, there were 646 deaths in the state. 21.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.8% were from cancer and 9.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.6% 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. 20, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022
Heart disease	139	135
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	128	143
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	34	37
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	33	34
Alzheimer's disease	26	27
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	26	27
Diabetes mellitus	25	25
Cerebrovascular diseases	22	25
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	18	17
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	62	68