Palmetto State News

There were 132 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in South Carolina during the week ending April 23, 2022, a 3.1% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 23, 2022, there were 695 deaths in the state. 19% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17% were from cancer and 1.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.6% 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	132	128
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	118	94
Cerebrovascular diseases	45	31
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	43	30
Alzheimer's disease	37	22
Diabetes mellitus	16	24
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	12	< 10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	11	11
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	12
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending April 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	74	66