A popular anti-obesity drug can reduce the risk of heart attacks and benefit cardiovascular health, a study has shown, in what could be the biggest medical breakthrough since the 1960s.
The study found that participants who used Semaglutide injections, which are sold under the brand names Ozempic, Wegovy, and Rybelsus, had a 20% lower risk of heart attacks or Stroke or death due to cardiovascular disease.
The drug "Semaglutide" was developed in 2012 to treat type 2 diabetes, but many studies have found that it can be used to treat obesity, and the injections have gained wide popularity in recent years thanks to this feature.
The new study presented at the European Obesity Congress (ECO), which was led by researchers at University College London, found that semaglutide brought cardiovascular benefits to participants, regardless of their starting weight or how much weight they lost.
Researchers suggest that those with mild obesity or who have lost only a small amount of weight could have better cardiovascular outcomes.
Professor John Denfeld, director of the National Institute for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research and lead author of the study, said the results showed the drug could be routinely prescribed to treat cardiovascular disease.
Adding, "This wonderful drug is truly a game-changer. This study suggests that there are potential alternative mechanisms for improving cardiovascular outcomes with semaglutide beyond weight loss. It is quite clear that something else is going on to benefit the cardiovascular system."
The study included 17,604 adults from 41 countries, aged 45 or older, and with a body mass index of more than 27. None of them had diabetes, but all had previously had a heart attack, stroke, or peripheral arterial disease.
Participants who had previously experienced a cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack, were given either a weekly dose of 2.5 mg of semaglutide or a placebo for an average of 40 months.
The results found that among 8,803 patients in the semaglutide group, 569 (6.5%) suffered an initial cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack, compared to 701 (8%) of 8,801 patients in the placebo group.
During the first two years of the study, the percentage of people suffering from obesity decreased sharply from 71% to 43% in the group that took the drug "Semaglutide."
But in those who received the placebo, the rate fell only slightly, from 72% to 68%.
After three years of treatment, the risk of heart attack, stroke, or death from cardiovascular disease was reduced by 20%.
Denfeld noted that in the 1990s, statins (drugs that lower cholesterol) were considered a medical breakthrough in the treatment of heart disease, and now semaglutide can be considered similarly groundbreaking when it comes to improving cardiovascular health.
Professor Jason Halford, president of the European Association for the Study of Obesity, explained that since the drug can improve cardiovascular health, it may be economically beneficial for it to be more widely prescribed.
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