Magnolia State News

There were 132 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Mississippi during the week ending April 2, 2022, a 18.9% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 2, 2022, there were 430 deaths in the state. 30.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.8% were from cancer and 3.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.4% 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 April 2, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 26, 2022
Heart disease	132	111
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	81	92
Cerebrovascular diseases	32	22
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	18	34
Alzheimer's disease	16	31
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	15	22
Influenza and pneumonia	11	12
Diabetes mellitus	11	19
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending April 2, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 26, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	36	44