Srinagar, Nov. 4 -- A quarter of Jammu and Kashmir's women now live with high blood pressure or depend on medication to control it. That figure alone should force a rethink of how the region understands hypertension. Long treated as a concern of ageing, it is increasingly affecting people in their most productive years. The latest health survey shows J&K moving against the national trend, turning what was once seen as a personal health issue into a public health challenge.

The numbers demand attention not simply because they are rising, but because they reflect a larger shift in the region's health profile. Diseases linked to lifestyle, diet and inactivity are steadily replacing the illnesses that once dominated public health discussions...