Big Sky Times

There were 58 deaths with heart disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Montana during the week ending September 18, a 52.6 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 18, there were 309 deaths in the state. 18.8 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 13.9 percent were from cancer and 42.1 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10 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 2021-09-18	Number of Deaths 2021-09-11
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	67	64
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	63	58
Heart disease	58	38
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	43	48
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	14	11
Alzheimer's disease	12	< 10
Cerebrovascular diseases	10	11
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	0	0

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-18	Number of Deaths 2021-09-11
Alzheimer disease and dementia	31	17