Summary: Parkinson's Disease (PD) can lead to swallowing disorders (dysphagia). Swallowing disorders in PD can be serious because it can lead to aspiration pneumonia, which is one of the most common causes of death in PD. In response to a special request by the National Parkinson Foundation (www.parkinson.org), this installment of Down the Hatch (The Swallowing Podcast) focuses on swallowing impairments in PD. Special guest experts Karen Wheeler-Hegland, Ph.D., CCC-SLP and Emily Plowman, Ph.D., CCC-SLP discuss issues related to swallowing disorders in PD for patients, care-givers, speech-language pathologists, physicians, and the general public.
