Great Lakes Wire

There were 500 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Michigan during the week ending Oct. 15, 2022, a 4.9% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 15, 2022, there were 2,033 deaths in the state. 24.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.1% were from cancer and 7.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.4% 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. 15, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022
Heart disease	500	526
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	429	404
Cerebrovascular diseases	117	105
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	97	89
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	83	90
Alzheimer's disease	70	76
Diabetes mellitus	66	59
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	57	60
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	36	31
Influenza and pneumonia	25	22

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	151	157