Great Lakes Wire

There were 303 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Michigan during the week ending March 5, a 26.5% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 5, there were 1,315 deaths in the state. 23% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.2% were from cancer and 14.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.5% 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 March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Heart disease	303	412
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	253	366
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	107	193
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	85	141
Cerebrovascular diseases	67	83
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	63	77
Alzheimer's disease	59	75
Diabetes mellitus	44	52
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	27	29
Influenza and pneumonia	17	14

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Alzheimer disease and dementia	125	148