Palmetto State News

There were 151 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in South Carolina during the week ending March 26, 2022, a 4.4% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 26, 2022, there were 762 deaths in the state. 19.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.6% were from cancer and 5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.4% 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 March 26, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 19, 2022
Heart disease	151	158
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	142	123
Cerebrovascular diseases	47	37
Alzheimer's disease	33	33
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	32	39
Diabetes mellitus	28	26
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	23	32
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	15	22
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	12
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	19

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 26, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 19, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	79	82