Maryland State Wire

There were 215 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Maryland during the week ending June 24, a 12% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 24, there were 914 deaths in the state. 23.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 23% were from cancer and 1.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.2% 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
Heart disease	215	192
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	210	208
Cerebrovascular diseases	57	63
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	32	31
Diabetes mellitus	24	24
Alzheimer's disease	17	24
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	13	10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	10	13
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	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	57	99