Volunteer State News

There were 224 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Tennessee during the week ending April 16, 2022, a 5.5% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 16, 2022, there were 1,049 deaths in the state. 21.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.4% were from cancer and 3.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.1% 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 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 9, 2022
Heart disease	224	237
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	162	185
Cerebrovascular diseases	63	58
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	51	54
Diabetes mellitus	46	33
Alzheimer's disease	39	45
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	22	24
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	19	20
Influenza and pneumonia	12	11
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	12	16

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 9, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	85	109