Alzheimer Patients Could Double by 2050

The number of U-S residents aged 65 or older living with Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, is expected to double from nearly seven million to 14 million by 2050, according to a new report.

Dementia is a progressive disease that gets worse over time, eventually making it impossible to communicate or make decisions. But as Jessica Empeño with Compassion & Choices explains, a new online tool can help people plan ahead so their wishes can be honored. She says, "That the people around them - whether it be their family, their loved ones, their health care team - know what is important to that person and what types of care they hope for in the future."

Compassion & Choices' free Dementia Values and Priorities Tool can is online at 'compassionandchoices.org/dementia-values-tool.' It's designed to help people communicate and document their future healthcare wishes before developing or in early-stage dementia. A series of questions and educational videos guides users through a range of changes commonly seen in the disease's progression.