Kashmir's Stroke Emergency

Every 40 seconds, someone in India suffers a stroke. In Kashmir, delay, myths, and lack of awareness often turn a treatable emergency into tragedy. Acting fast can change everything.

- Dr Sheikh Hilal Ahmad

On World Stroke Day, I often pause to think about the word faaleg, our Kashmiri name for stroke.

It's a word we hear too casually, used for all kinds of neurological issues. But for those who've truly seen a stroke unfold, faaleg is a terrifying moment that can alter a life within seconds.

As a neurologist, I've witnessed this countless times in hospital corridors, where every passing minute decides how much of a person's mind and memory we can save.

This year's theme, “Every Minute Counts - Act FAST,” could not be more urgent. Science tells us that 1.9 million neurons die every minute a stroke is left untreated.

That is what we mean when we say time is brain.

In the first hour after a stroke, the brain's architecture begins to collapse. A delay in treatment means a lifetime of paralysis, speech loss, or worse: death.

Each year, an estimated 12 million people worldwide suffer a new stroke, and more than 6.5 million die as a result of stroke-related complications, making it one of the leading causes of death and disability across the globe.

In India, one person suffers a stroke every 40 seconds and one dies every four minutes. These statistics play out daily in our hospitals.

The valley, with its rising cases of hypertension and diabetes, is no exception.

I've seen men in their fifties, including shopkeepers, teachers, and farmers brought in with half their body paralyzed, their speech gone, and families surrounding them in panic.