Wood fires linked to heart disease

ExpoSURE to household air pollution such as wood or coal fumes from heating and cooking could raise your risk of heart attack or stroke, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Researchers from the University of oxford and other centres studied health records of 271,000 people in China and found that those who regularly cooked over coal or wood had a 20 per cent higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared to those who used electricity or gas.

Burning coal or wood releases fine particles called pM2.5 which we inhale and which then penetrate deep into our lung tissue.

The effect of indoor pollution had previously been thought to be limited.