Equality State News

There were 23 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Wyoming during the week ending October 23, a 4.5 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending October 23, there were 147 deaths in the state. 15.6 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 12.9 percent were from cancer and 55.1 percent were from COVID-19.

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 2021-10-23	Number of Deaths 2021-10-16
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	41	38
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	40	33
Heart disease	23	22
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	19	20
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	< 10	< 10
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	< 10	< 10
Cerebrovascular diseases	< 10	< 10