GLP-1 drugs’ heart health benefits not solely from weight loss: study

• As the recognition of GLP-1 receptor agonists for weight reduction continues to develop, researchers proceed to look at how these medicines may influence different areas of an individual’s well being.
• In 2023, revealed analysis findings reported that semaglutide might probably cut back an individual’s danger for coronary heart assault, stroke, and main cardiac occasions by 20%.
• Constructing off this analysis, a brand new examine provides additional proof of semaglutide and lowered main cardiac occasion danger, no matter how a lot weight an individual loses whereas taking the GLP-1 treatment.

“GLP-1 receptor agonists are being proven to learn many persistent ailments over and above their impact on weight,” John Deanfield, FRCP, FESC, professor of cardiology on the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences at College Faculty London, informed Medical Information Right this moment. “These embrace liver disease, kidney disease, diabetes, and neurological diseases equivalent to Parkinson’s disease. They need to subsequently not be labeled merely as ‘weight reduction’ medicine, however as medicine that may have a direct impact to enhance sufferers’ well being.”

In 2023, Deanfield and his analysis staff revealed analysis findings that discovered semaglutide — the energetic ingredient in GLP-1 medicines Wegovy and Ozempic — might probably cut back an individual’s danger for heart attack, stroke, and main cardiac occasions by 20%.

Constructing off this analysis, Deanfield is the lead creator of a brand new examine lately revealed within the journal The Lancet that gives additional proof of semaglutide and lowered main cardiac occasion danger, no matter how a lot weight an individual loses whereas taking the GLP-1 treatment.

For this new examine funded by pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk, which makes Wegovy and Ozempic, researchers analyzed medical information for greater than 17,000 adults ages 45 and over who have been a part of the SELECT trial. Examine members have been clinically chubby and had heart problems, and have been randomly assigned to obtain weekly injections of semaglutide or a placebo.

“Semaglutide was developed as a drug for sufferers with diabetes however within the SELECT trial we demonstrated that it produced a profit on heart problems in sufferers with prior coronary heart illness, however no diabetes,” Deanfield responded when requested why his analysis staff determined to take their 2023 findings additional to see what position weight reduction performed in coronary heart illness prevention.

“It additionally produced important weight reduction, and it had been assumed that this accounted for the cardiovascular profit,” he mentioned.

On the new examine’s conclusion, researchers discovered that the discount in main adversarial cardiac occasion danger discovered throughout their 2023 examine was related no matter how a lot a examine participant’s weight was in the beginning of the trial and the way a lot weight they misplaced over the primary 4.5 months of taking semaglutide.

“It suggests an impact on the causes of coronary heart illness slightly than simply on weight,” Deanfield defined. “It could subsequently profit sufferers with comparatively modest adiposity and even with BMIs within the regular vary, however this must be examined.”

Moreover, researchers did discover that members with a smaller waist circumference — an indication of much less visceral fat within the abdomen space — have been linked to raised coronary heart well being outcomes, and accounted for about one-third of semaglutide’s general profit.

“Stomach adiposity marked by waist circumference is well-known to be related to elevated cardiovascular danger, and certainly in our examine there was a relationship between waist circumference change and cardiovascular outcomes,” Deanfield mentioned. “This, nevertheless, nonetheless accounted for lower than a 3rd of the cardiovascular profit seen in sufferers who took semaglutide.”

Not only a ‘weight reduction’ drug

“Semaglutide advantages coronary heart illness sufferers even with solely modest weight enhance and ought to be a part of cardiometabolic disease administration and never simply thought-about as a ‘weight reduction’ drug. Sufferers who lose little or no weight on remedy should still get a considerable cardiovascular profit.”
— John Deanfield, FRCP, FESC

MNT spoke with Mir Ali, MD, bariatric surgeon and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Heart at Orange Coast Medical Heart in Fountain Valley, CA, about this examine, who commented he was pleasantly shocked by its outcomes.

“It exhibits that there are extra advantages to semaglutide past diabetes management and weight reduction,” Ali defined. “Since these medicine are very broadly prescribed for a lot of causes, it is very important perceive all the results of those medicines. Not solely is it vital to know all of the helpful results, nevertheless it is also vital to know the potential unfavourable results, so sufferers might be endorsed correctly.”

“The subsequent steps could be to design a examine to see the mechanism for enchancment in cardiovascular well being,” he added. “The others did theorize on potential mechanisms (like decreasing lipid and persistent irritation), however this wants extra analysis to delineate extra clearly.”

MNT additionally spoke with Cheng-Han Chen, MD, a board licensed interventional heart specialist and medical director of the Structural Coronary heart Program at Saddleback Medical Heart in Laguna Hills, CA, about this analysis.

“Semaglutide has beforehand been proven within the SELECT trial to considerably cut back main adversarial cardiovascular occasions in chubby/overweight sufferers with identified coronary heart illness however with out diabetes,” Chen defined. “This examine analyzed the knowledge from the SELECT examine, and located that this profit to cardiovascular well being didn’t depend upon how chubby sufferers have been or how a lot weight they misplaced.”

“This fascinating discovering means that the cardiovascular advantages of semaglutide act by way of a biochemical mechanism not dependent merely on altering the physique weight of a person,” he continued. “This may occasionally open up different avenues of analysis and therapies that would enhance coronary heart well being.”

“Many current research have proven that semaglutide and different medicine on this class (GLP-1 agonists) supply a profit to cardiovascular well being past their advantages to weight reduction and blood sugar management. As some of the impactful lessons of medicine in current historical past, these medicines have the potential to dramatically enhance the charges of heart problems within the U.S.”
— Cheng-Han Chen, MD

“Future analysis ought to consider the potential mechanisms behind how GLP-1 agonists supply cardiovascular safety past their results on weight reduction and blood sugar management,” he added.