Heart Attacks In

CONTD. FROM FRONT PAGE

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under the age of 70. Public health experts call it a “generational crisis in slow motion.”

“This is not just a problem of the old anymore,” said a senior cardiologist at SKIMS, the region’s top referral hospital. “Every week, we see new cases of heart attacks in patients under 40. Some don't even make it to the hospital.”

So why is this happening?

A combination of lifestyle changes, chronic stress, substance abuse, and gaps in the healthcare system is fueling the surge.

Kashmir has one of the highest tobacco use rates in India. Around 38 to 56 percent of adults in the Valley smoke or use tobacco products. In rural heart patients, smoking rates touch 76 percent. Hookah, locally known as jajeer, is deeply woven into social life.

But addiction doesn't stop at tobacco. In 2022, an official study found that nearly 8 percent of youth in Kashmir were addicted to opioids or other hard drugs. Doctors warn this is placing a direct strain on young hearts and blood vessels.

But the triggers aren't only physical.

A 2015 survey by Médecins Sans Frontiéres found that nearly 45 percent of adults in Kashmir showed symptoms of psychological distress. Doctors now believe that prolonged exposure to stress—curbs, violence, unemployment—is accelerating cardiac wear and tear in young men.