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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffAs the disease progresses, people with ALS experience one or more of the following complications:
Breathing problems
ALS eventually paralyzes the muscles needed to breathe. Some devices to assist your breathing are worn only at night and are similar to devices used by people who have sleep apnea (for example, continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, masks). In the latter stages of ALS, some people choose to have a tracheostomy — a surgically-created hole at the front of the neck leading to the windpipe (trachea) — to enable the full-time use of a respirator that inflates and deflates their lungs.
The most common cause of death for people with ALS is respiratory failure, usually within three to five years after symptoms begin.
Eating problems
When the muscles that control swallowing are affected, people with ALS can develop malnutrition and dehydration. They are also at higher risk of aspirating food, liquids or secretions into the lungs, which can cause pneumonia. A feeding tube can reduce these risks.
Dementia
Some people with ALS experience problems with memory and making decisions, and some are eventually diagnosed with a form of dementia called frontotemporal dementia.
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