Volunteer State News

There were 217 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Tennessee during the week ending April 23, 2022, a 14.9% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 23, 2022, there were 990 deaths in the state. 21.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.7% were from cancer and 1.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.1% 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 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022
Heart disease	217	255
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	155	180
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	52	56
Cerebrovascular diseases	46	67
Alzheimer's disease	33	41
Diabetes mellitus	28	49
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	23	21
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	17	23
Influenza and pneumonia	14	14
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	13

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending April 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	90	93