For months, the Moul Mouj Foundation has been travelling across Kashmir, North, South and Central, under its project Elders Deserve Better, holding medical and awareness camps exclusively for senior citizens. We expected to see arthritis, diabetes, cataracts and the usual burdens of aging. What we did not expect was the sheer scale of uncontrolled hypertension silently expanding across the Valley like an invisible epidemic.

In our camps, any reading above 140/90 mmHg was considered uncontrolled. Shockingly, we recorded values as high as 240/140 mmHg, indicating severe and dangerous hypertension.

The numbers were deeply unsettling. In North Kashmir—Kupwara, Bandipora and Baramulla—71% of elderly individuals who already knew they had hypertension were found to have uncontrolled readings. In South Kashmir—Kulgam, Shopian, Anantnag and Pulwama—the figure crossed 75%, a percentage that would alarm any health system. In Central Kashmir—Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal—45% of known hypertensive elders remained uncontrolled.

These were not isolated readings or chance fluctuations. They were consistent patterns—persistent, widespread, and medically dangerous.

Uncontrolled hypertension refers to blood pressure that remains above the recommended target levels despite diagnosis, lifestyle advice, or prescribed medications. Clinically, it is defined as: Systolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg and/or Diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg (in most adults, including seniors). This means the heart and blood vessels are under persistent excess pressure, placing the individual at significantly higher risk for complications such as stroke, heart attack, kidney damage and vision loss.

Uncontrolled hypertension usually results from: Irregular or missed medication, Inadequate doses or wrong drug combinations, Self-medication or dose alterations, Poor follow-up or monitoring, Lifestyle factors (high salt, inactivity, stress), Limited access to care or medicines

When I shared these findings with our Editor-in-Chief, Fayaz Ahmad Kaloo, he made a pointed observation: “This isn’t just medical data—it’s a societal warning. If so many elders have uncontrolled BP, the........

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