Natural State News

There were 167 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Arkansas during the week ending Oct. 1, 2022, a 14.4% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 1, 2022, there were 713 deaths in the state. 23.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.1% were from cancer and 8.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.6% 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 Oct. 1, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022
Heart disease	167	146
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	143	109
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	44	46
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	35	32
Diabetes mellitus	33	15
Cerebrovascular diseases	32	24
Alzheimer's disease	26	21
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	23	20
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	17	17
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 1, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	61	46