Dementia and serious coexisting medical conditions: a double whammy

Substantial proportions of people with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias also have other serious medical conditions. Nurses and other health care professionals encounter these patients in acute and long-term care settings, although the patients' dementia frequently is not diagnosed or documented in their medical records. This article presents the available information about the prevalence of coexisting medical conditions in people with dementia, the impact of these conditions on their use of health care services, and the cost of those services. It discusses the implications of serious coexisting medical conditions for the care of people with dementia, and, conversely, the implications of dementia for the treatment of the other conditions, emphasizing ways that nurses can help patients and their families who are affected by the double whammy of dementia and other serious medical conditions.