The Sconi

There were 226 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Wisconsin during the week ending June 24, a 4.6% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 24, there were 1,029 deaths in the state. 22% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.8% were from cancer and less than 1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.2% 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	226	216
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	224	220
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	53	40
Cerebrovascular diseases	52	43
Alzheimer's disease	38	39
Diabetes mellitus	34	24
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	15	19
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	12
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 24	Deaths in Week Ending June 17
Alzheimer disease and dementia	84	99