people become very disabled well before this & some many years later. I general, the older a person is when they get symptoms the slower the disease progression. Thus, people who first get HD symptoms in old age (say over 65) might have a normal life expectancy. However, since most people get symptoms when they are younger than this for most people life expectancy is reduced. In my experience, the commonest causes of death are pneumonia and trauma from falling. Pneumonia can occur when the wallowing muscles become weak & so saliva, fluids & food can trickle into the lungs and cause an infection. This is why it's important that people with HD see a speech pathologist and when needed their diet is modified. For example, fluids can be thickened & food  cut up finely or minced. Changing the diet this way reduces the risk of chest infections & allows the person with HD to get enough nutrition. Falls are common in HD & can be very heavy. This can result in severe injuries like a broken leg or a fractured skull. The other major  cause of death in HD is suicide. This is a very upsetting thing for families, and for doctors & nurses. There is a lot we can do to help people who are suicidal to get rid of these awful thoughts and make them happy & safe again. Anyone who feels that they might want to harm themself or who has a relative who they think