Old Dominion News

There were 197 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Virginia during the week ending March 19, 2022, a 1% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 19, 2022, there were 988 deaths in the state. 19.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.1% 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 March 19, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 12, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	208	186
Heart disease	197	195
Cerebrovascular diseases	56	52
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	49	69
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	41	38
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	41	51
Alzheimer's disease	30	34
Diabetes mellitus	23	29
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	20	30
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 19, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 12, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	95	119