Reducing CVD Through Improvements in Household Energy Implications for Policy-Relevant Research. (2012) Global Heart 7:3. 243-247.
Baumgartner J, Smith KR, Chockalingam A.
There is growing evidence of a wide range of health outcomes associated with HAP, including limited direct and indirect evidence of cardiovascular impacts where the largest change in relative risk seems to occur at the lower end of the exposure distribution. Reducing HAP emissions and exposures to levels that meet or exceed the WHO guidelines should be a high priority task for the cardiovascular and public health communities.
Other than the proven, but expensive alternatives of gas and electricity, there are a number of housing, energy, and behavioral interventions, ranging from improved insulation to ventilation to advanced combustion biomass stoves, but only a few at present show promise of reaching low pollution levels in large-scale dissemination still using solid fuels. Relatively little is known about their health benefits, particularly for cardiovascular outcomes, and even less is known about combinations of interventions that best meet the full energy needs of households.
