The life expectancy of elderly people with cerebral infarction is related to personal past medical history, physical condition, severity of cerebral infarction and complications. Acute cerebral infarction with stable condition after treatment is generally not life-threatening, and its clinical death is generally related to various complications. The prognosis of patients with cerebral infarction is related to the site of cerebral infarction, whether it affects the corresponding functional area, the size of the infarct, the patient’s vascular condition, and whether the patient has hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, atrial fibrillation, history of smoking and alcohol consumption, and other risk factors. Mild cerebral infarction may only have symptoms such as crooked mouth, hemiplegia and unfavorable speech, which generally will not affect life expectancy. If sequelae are left, the quality of life will be lower than before, but as long as preventive treatment is adhered to without recurrence, it will not affect life expectancy. 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 will be increased. Although cerebral infarction itself does not necessarily lead directly to the death of the patient, if the patient has severe hemiplegia requiring long-term bed rest, the patient’s life may be endangered by complications such as pulmonary infection, urinary tract infection and bed sores, so comprehensive treatment and care of patients with severe cerebral infarction is very important and is the key to reducing death. In conclusion, not all elderly people with cerebral infarction die from infarction, but more often from comorbidities. The vast majority of mildly ill patients and most severely ill patients will not have their life expectancy affected with effective treatment, as long as they take the appropriate medications as prescribed by their doctors, control their risk factors and maintain a good state of mind.