Bay State News

There were 197 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Massachusetts during the week ending June 24, a 6.6% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 24, there were 1,099 deaths in the state. 17.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.4% were from cancer and 1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.2% 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 June 24	Deaths in Week Ending June 17
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	235	280
Heart disease	197	211
Cerebrovascular diseases	51	36
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	42	48
Alzheimer's disease	35	32
Diabetes mellitus	27	23
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	26	18
Influenza and pneumonia	15	22
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	11	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 24	Deaths in Week Ending June 17
Alzheimer disease and dementia	123	136