Floating Rally And Hard Facts Mark World Heart Day In Kashmir

As the first light spread across Dal Lake on Monday, a line of brightly painted shikaras glided away from the shore. Inside sat doctors, nurses, and students from the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), rowing in steady pace. People along the banks stopped to watch the calm procession of white coats and fluttering banners.

The boats carried a simple message that hung in the air as firmly as the autumn mist: a strong heart builds a strong future.

The Department of Cardiology at SKIMS chose the lake as the starting point for its World Heart Day program, hoping that a striking image would spark conversation about a problem that is no longer hidden.

Cardiac disease has become one of Kashmir's leading health threats, and doctors say it is striking younger people with alarming speed.

By midmorning, the action moved from water to words inside the SKIMS auditorium.

Cardiologists presented data showing a steady climb in heart attacks and related conditions across Jammu and Kashmir. They spoke of diets loaded with salt and preservatives, a stubborn culture of smoking and the reluctance to seek regular checkups.

Each factor, they said, feeds a crisis that is now visible in emergency rooms across the valley.

“Heart disease is showing up in patients a decade earlier than we once expected,” said Dr. Ashraf Ganie, the SKIMS director, in his keynote address.“This is no longer an illness of old age. Staying aware, getting checked on time, and living healthier are the best ways we can protect the next generation.”

The warnings are backed by local health surveys.

Hypertension and diabetes, two major drivers of cardiac problems, are rising across the region, with urban Srinagar showing some of the sharpest increases.

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