Erythropoietin (EPO) is a naturally occuring hormone which regulates the body's response to
lack of oxygen and controls the number of red cells in the blood. Recent studies in animals
have shown that EPO has protective effects when organs such as the heart and brain are
injured by lack of oxygen due to reduced blood supply.
We wish to test the idea that giving a patient, who is having a heart attack, an injection of
EPO will reduce the size of the heart attack.