Clean air is essential for heart health
Air pollution is one of the leading environmental risk factors for cardiovascular disease, responsible for an estimated 8 million premature deaths in 2021. Yet it remains too often overlooked in national cardiovascular and NCD agendas.
2025 offers a critical window for change. With the UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs and renewed global commitments on air pollution and climate-related health risks, now is the time for the cardiovascular community to act.
To support governments, civil society, and health advocates in addressing this urgent issue, the World Heart Federation has developed its Air Pollution & Heart Health Toolkit which includes advocacy tools, and ready-to-use materials.
Why this Toolkit?
This resource was developed to:
- Equip WHF Members and cardiovascular health advocates with the knowledge, tools, and messaging needed to drive policy change.
- Provide evidence, advocacy materials, and capacity-building resources tailored for diverse contexts.
- Amplify the cardiovascular voice in air quality and climate policy.
Whether you are a cardiologist, researcher, advocate, member of a cardiac society, or simply committed to cleaner air, this Toolkit offers practical tools to strengthen your efforts.
What’s inside the Toolkit?
- WHF Policy Brief – Evidence on air pollution and CVD, with clear policy recommendations.
- Infographics (EN & ES) – Awareness-raising tools for policymakers, stakeholders, and the public.
- WHF World Heart Report 2024 – Global insights on environmental risk factors and CVD burden.
- WHO Capacity Building Toolkit – CVD Module – Training and tools for health professionals.
- WHO Academy Course – An interactive, accessible learning module on air pollution and health.
- NCDA Advocacy Guide – Step-by-step civil society engagement in the lead-up to the 2025 UNHLM.
- Draft Letter to Policymakers – Ready-to-use advocacy template for urgent action.
- External Resources & Contacts – Connect with leading agencies and experts.
Download the Toolkit
How you can use it
Read
through the toolkit, identify the most relevant materials for your work and use them to strengthen your work on air pollution and heart health.
Reach out
to your national decision-makers—health ministers, environment ministries, NCD focal points—and urge them to integrate air pollution into cardiovascular and NCD policy agendas. The Draft Letter to Policymakers is designed to help you do just that. Your voice is vital in this year of heightened political attention to air pollution and health.
Raise awareness
by sharing the toolkit visuals and key messages on social media, using #CleanAirForHeartHealth, and by presenting this topic in professional and public health forums.
Disseminate
these materials to your own members, networks, and partners
Integrate
the recommendations in the WHF Policy Brief and 2024 World Heart Report into your advocacy campaigns and awareness-raising initiatives
Share
the infographics widely on your social media platforms and display them at public events or conferences
Discuss
the materials with key stakeholders at congresses, summits, and other fora where cardiovascular and/or environmental health policy are on the agenda
Reach out
to the World Heart Federation with examples of how you are using the toolkit, and/or to share feedback on its content, format, and ease of us