Over time, the illnesses that cause dementia tend to damage more and more of a person’s brain. Eventually, they may damage the parts of the brain that control important processes in the body, and the person may die from their illness.
Not everybody who is diagnosed with dementia reaches this stage. Most people living with dementia are older than 65, and as people get older, many other types of illness become more common. They also become harder to recover from.
Like everyone else, a person with dementia may get one of these other types of life-limiting illnesses. Doctors, nurses and care workers help to monitor the health of people with dementia, to keep them as well as possible, for as long as possible.
This information was updated in November 2019 and is due for review in November 2021. Please contact us if you would like a version with references.
