Old Dominion News

There were 272 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Virginia during the week ending Sept. 10, 2022, a 4.6% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 10, 2022, there were 1,444 deaths in the state. 18.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.5% were from cancer and 7.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.7% 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 Sept. 10, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	296	296
Heart disease	272	285
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	66	43
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	66	86
Cerebrovascular diseases	59	81
Diabetes mellitus	47	46
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	47	57
Alzheimer's disease	39	42
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	27	23
Influenza and pneumonia	24	12

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	155	137