The present invention relates to the use of an Extracellular Matrix Metalloproteinase Inducer (EMMPRIN) inhibitor for preventing and/or treating cardiac damage arising after an ischemic process followed by reperfusion. The authors of the present invention have observed that EMMPRIN expression increases in subjects who have suffered ischemia/reperfusion, ascertaining that an EMMPRIN inhibitor is capable of reducing the cardiac damage caused after ischemia followed by reperfusion, both in vitro and in vivo.