In the unaffected regions of MI hearts, no monotone relation (rho = 0.22) between HIF-1α and iNOS was found, but there was a moderate monotone relation (rho = 0.4) between HIF-1α and VEGF, which was not significant (p < 0.2) (Fig. 3b). This evidence concerns the gene NOS2 and myocardial infarction.