As winter tightens its grip on Kashmir, its people once again confront a harsh and familiar reality: a seasonal surge in cardiac emergencies met with fragile healthcare preparedness. The recent advisory issued by the Department of Cardiology at Government Medical College, Srinagar, warning of increased heart-related risks during extreme cold, should not be read as a routine caution. It is a serious reminder of a systemic failure that Kashmir has lived with for years —one that becomes deadlier every winter.
Doctors have rightly warned that cold temperatures constrict blood vessels, raise blood pressure and increase the likelihood of heart attacks and strokes, particularly among the elderly and those with chronic illnesses. Yet despite this predictable pattern, Kashmir still lacks a single fully equipped, dedicated cardiac emergency hospital. For a region that witnesses a sharp seasonal rise in cardiac emergencies, this absence is not just a medical gap but a moral failure.
Every winter, families rush loved ones through snow-covered roads, often travelling long distances in search of cardiac care that may or may not be available in time. Many do not make it. These deaths rarely make headlines, but they are no less tragic. Advisories asking people to “seek timely care” ring hollow when timely care itself is out of reach.
Healthcare cannot be reduced to advisories and statistics. It requires infrastructure, preparedness and political will. The issue is compounded by unreliable electricity, inadequate heating, and overstretched hospitals—factors that directly worsen cardiac outcomes in a region where cold is not occasional but prolonged and severe.
This is where governance must step in with urgency and intent. The Omar Abdullah government must treat quality healthcare, particularly cardiac care, as a core priority rather than a peripheral concern. A dedicated cardiac emergency facility, strengthened district-level cardiac units, reliable power supply to hospitals, and winter-specific emergency planning are not luxuries; they are necessities.
Kashmir does not need sympathy, it needs systems that work when lives are on the line. Winter will return every year, but preventable deaths should not. The true measure of governance lies not in statistics or statements, but in whether a person in cardiac distress can reach timely, lifesaving care. That is the test before the government today.
