Maryland State Wire

There were 138 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Maryland during the week ending March 26, 2022, a 27% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 26, 2022, there were 684 deaths in the state. 20.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.4% were from cancer and 6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.4% 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	138	189
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	133	130
Cerebrovascular diseases	49	50
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	28	17
Diabetes mellitus	25	23
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	23	20
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	18	12
Alzheimer's disease	14	19
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	12
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	16

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 26, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 19, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	64	80