Old Dominion News

There were 186 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Virginia during the week ending March 26, 2022, a 8.4% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 26, 2022, there were 919 deaths in the state. 20.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.2% were from cancer and 8.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.9% 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 March 26, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 19, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	186	213
Heart disease	186	203
Cerebrovascular diseases	51	60
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	44	50
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	43	41
Alzheimer's disease	41	31
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	34	42
Diabetes mellitus	25	24
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	13	21
Influenza and pneumonia	10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 26, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 19, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	109	98