They confirm the most powerful benefit of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy.
Some of what at first seemed like problems with the new drugs used to treat the diabetes-obesity binomial are turning into benefits, according to a new study from the University of London (UCL), which analysed data 4286 people who were randomly assigned to semaglutide or placebo) and followed for an average of more than three years.
The results were published in Lancetprovided new evidence that semaglutide (Ozempic) may help prevent heart attacks and other serious adverse cardiac events among overweight people, even if they have a type of heart failure (HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), in which the heart pumps less blood to the body).
Moreover, the findings follow a previous study by the same international team, which found that Weekly injections of semaglutide were associated with a 20% reduction in the rate of major adverse cardiac events (MACE).such as heart attacks and strokes in this group of people.
Researchers have found that semaglutide is associated with 28% reduction in the incidence of major adverse cardiac events (such events were observed in 12% in the placebo group compared with 9% in the semaglutide group), and reduction in mortality from cardiovascular diseases by 24%; for this subgroup of people with pre-existing heart failure – and 19% of deaths from any cause
“Our previous SELECT (Semaglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Over 17,000 People) analysis showed benefits of semaglutide for people with cardiovascular disease who were obese or overweight. This new study shows that in this group, people with cardiovascular disease had the same outcomes as people without heart failure in terms of the outcomes we measured,” says lead author Professor John Deanfield (UCL Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences), according to Ep.
“This is important because There have been concerns that semaglutide may be harmful to people with a type of heart failure known as reduced ejection fraction, in which the heart pumps less blood around the body. “Our results show that the benefit of semaglutide was the same regardless of the type of heart failure,” he adds.
Semaglutide is a GLP-1 receptor agonist that mimics the functions of the body’s natural incretin hormones, which help lower blood sugar levels after meals. It was initially prescribed to adults with type 2 diabetes, but thanks to data from the SELECT trial, The UK’s medicines regulator last month approved Wegovy to treat people with cardiovascular disease. This means that it can be registered privately.
In Spain, Wegovy (semaglutide) has been approved since April last year for weight control and to ease supply problems faced by drugs such as Ozempic.