Heart disease claims millions in India as gaps in medical care delay urgent treatment

Heart disease kills 28.6 lakh Indians every year, making it the most common cause of death in the country. Data shows that roughly 27 percent of all deaths in India are due to heart disease, and 62 percent of cardiovascular deaths happen prematurely among people aged 40 to 69. Patients across both rural and urban areas face major hurdles in getting timely care. In February 2026, a farmer named Jassuram Khanna felt chest tightness in Uttarakhand and had to travel through multiple health centres over several hours before finally getting an electrocardiogram, or ECG, that showed a 100 percent vessel blockage. Medical guidelines recommend that a heart attack patient get an ECG within 10 minutes of meeting a medical team, but primary health centres in rural India often lack ECG machines and trained staff. City living does not guarantee fast care either. In December 2025, retired teacher Usha Amin experienced a very low pulse in Thane near Mumbai, but the first multispecialty hospital she visited lacked an available cardiologist and sent her away until her family took her to another hospital for emergency treatment. Experts note that Indians suffer from heart disease about 10 years earlier than people in the West, with 10 percent of patients under 40. High blood pressure, diabetes, poor diet, smoking, and stress drive these numbers, while 315 million Indians have high blood pressure and 101 million have diabetes. Many patients suffer severe heart attacks known as STEMI, where a coronary artery is fully blocked, but the most common treatment an average Indian receives is no treatment at all due to missing infrastructure or arriving too late.