Hoosier State Today

There were 253 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Indiana during the week ending June 26, a 7.7 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 26, there were 1,211 deaths in the state. 20.9 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.7 percent were from cancer and 6.4 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.9 percent 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	Number of Deaths 2021-06-26	Number of Deaths 2021-06-19
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	263	288
Heart disease	253	274
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	73	79
Cerebrovascular diseases	67	65
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	43	49
Alzheimer's disease	42	42
Diabetes mellitus	39	55
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	35	36
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	26	25
Influenza and pneumonia	12	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-06-26	Number of Deaths 2021-06-19
Alzheimer disease and dementia	96	114