Pollution & Cardiovascular Deaths (IMAGE) University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center Caption The researchers note that pollution was estimated to be responsible for nine million deaths worldwide in 2019, 5.1 million of which were due to cardiovascular disease (Fig. 2B). Credit UH / CWRU / BC Usage Restrictions None License Original content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.