AKT1 and myocardial infarction: In addition, sevoflurane pretreatment can increase the expression level of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) by activating the Akt/HIF-1α/VEGF signaling pathway, increase angiogenesis in the focal area of MI/RI, improve myocardial hypoxia, and thus protect the heart (Dong et al., 2019).