Sooner State News

There were 199 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Oklahoma during the week ending Oct. 1, 2022, a 2.5% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 1, 2022, there were 801 deaths in the state. 24.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.2% were from cancer and 7.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.7% 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 Oct. 1, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022
Heart disease	199	204
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	154	140
Cerebrovascular diseases	37	32
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	37	59
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	33	44
Diabetes mellitus	25	35
Alzheimer's disease	25	37
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	22	32
Influenza and pneumonia	11	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	14

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 1, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	70	74