However, Bolli et al. have demonstrated that ischemic preconditioning (PC), a phenomenon in which brief episodes of ischemia and reperfusion protect the heart from a subsequent prolonged ischemic period, upregulates the expression and activity of COX-2 and NOS-2 in heart, mediating the protective effects of the late phase of PC [10]. This evidence concerns the gene PTGS2 and ischemia.