Injections for losing weight can lower the chances of suffering a heart attack or stroke.
Cardiovascular illness continues to be the leading cause of death. However, semaglutide, a substance injected to decrease weight, may also safeguard the heart regardless of someone's weight or quantity of weight loss.
Semaglutide's use for weight loss offers additional benefits to the heart and blood vessels of individuals without diabetes. This drug can minimize the danger of suffering from a stroke or heart attack, according to experts at University College London. These protective effects happen irrespective of an individual's initial weight or the amount of kilograms lost during treatment with semaglutide.
The research team employed data from the SELECT study conducted by the maker of Ozempic, Novo Nordisk. In total, they analyzed 17,604 adults aged 45 and over from 41 countries with a body mass index (BMI) of 27 or higher at the outset of the investigation. All study participants had not been diagnosed with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes and received a weekly 2.4 mg dose of semaglutide or a placebo for several months.
The study uncovered that of the 8,803 patients receiving semaglutide, 569, or 6.5%, experienced a "cardiovascular event," such as a heart attack. Conversely, 8% of the 8,801 participants in the placebo group had such an event. The data gathered after 48 months demonstrates semaglutide's effect goes beyond weight reduction.
"A game-changer"
John Deanfield, head of the National Institute for Cardiocular Outcomes Research, expressed excitement to The Guardian and referred to the drug as "fantastic." He acknowledged, "It's quite clear that there's something else going on that's good for the cardiovascular system." Semaglutide could be considered revolutionary in the same vein as statins in the 1990s in terms of improving cardiovascular health. "We now have a class of drugs that could transform many chronic diseases of aging in this way," says Deanfield.
Semaglutide is a prescription drug that suppresses appetite to aid in weight loss for people with obesity. The active ingredient is marketed under the brand names Wegovy, Ozempic, and Rybelsus. It has been authorized in Europe since 2018 and was classified as a lifestyle drug by the Federal Joint Committee in Germany in 2024. Health insurance funding is hence excluded.
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Source: www.ntv.de
