How long a patient with cerebral infarction lives is related to his or her past medical history, physical condition and the severity of the cerebral infarction. The prognosis of patients with cerebral infarction is related to the location of the infarction, whether it affects the corresponding functional area, the size of the infarct, the patient’s underlying vascular condition, and whether the patient has a history of hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, atrial fibrillation, smoking and alcohol consumption, and other risk factors. Generally speaking, for lacunar cerebral infarction with very small area, cerebral infarction in which the patient does not have severe stenosis of large blood vessels, and cerebral infarction in which the patient has few risk factors and mild symptoms, the patient may only have symptoms such as crooked mouth, hemiplegia and unfavorable speech, which usually do not directly affect the life expectancy, but if sequelae are left, the quality of life will be reduced compared with that before. If the patient has a large cerebral infarct, the symptoms are progressively aggravated, the patient is comatose or the respiratory and circulatory center of the medulla oblongata is affected, the patient’s risk of death is increased. In addition, cerebral infarction itself does not necessarily lead directly to the patient’s death; if the patient is severely hemiplegic and needs to be bedridden for a long time, he or she may have life-threatening complications such as pulmonary infections, urinary tract infections, and decubitus ulcers, so comprehensive treatment and care of patients with severe cerebral infarction is very important and is the key to reducing death. In conclusion, the life expectancy of patients with cerebral infarction cannot be generalized. The majority of patients with mild cases and most patients with severe cases will not have their life expectancy affected after effective treatment, as long as they take the appropriate medications as prescribed by the doctor, control the risk factors and maintain a good state of mind.