EPO and myocardial infarction: EPOs ability to improve cardiac function, independent of erythropoiesis and the mobilization of bone marrow-derived cells, has been recently confirmed by a study demonstrating that EPO prevented cardiomyocyte apoptosis and stimulated angiogenesis after myocardial infarction by direct upregulation of angiogenic factors, such as VEGF and angiopoietin-1 expression [37].