As far as i remeber this was introduced several versions ago to capture the probelm in the ncx files.
<h1>This is<br />a Heading</h1>
Outcome in ncx: This isa Heading
<h1>This is<br /> a Heading</h1>
Outcome in ncx: This is a Heading
It just saves you time not in the need to add blanks if your headings contains <br />-
|