Natural State News

There were 156 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Arkansas during the week ending Sept. 3, 2022, a 24.8% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 3, 2022, there were 668 deaths in the state. 23.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.6% were from cancer and 7.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.9% 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 Sept. 3, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 27, 2022
Heart disease	156	125
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	131	122
Cerebrovascular diseases	39	33
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	32	45
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	29	43
Alzheimer's disease	24	28
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	20	29
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	19	11
Diabetes mellitus	15	14
Influenza and pneumonia	10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 27, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	53	57