FRIDAY, Aug. 23, 2024 (HealthDay News) — The popular weight-loss drug Wegovy (semaglutide) has already been shown to lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Now, new data from a recent trial indicates that this benefit extends even to patients with severe heart failure.
Dr. John Deanfield, the study’s lead author from University College London (UCL), explained that the results help address concerns about using Wegovy in patients with a specific type of heart failure known as reduced ejection fraction, where the heart struggles to pump sufficient blood.
“This is important, as there were concerns that semaglutide might be harmful for people with reduced ejection fraction,” said Deanfield, who is a professor of cardiology at UCL. “Our findings show that the benefit of semaglutide was similar, regardless of heart failure type.”
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In November, Deanfield and his team initially reported that overweight or obese heart patients aged 45 or older had a 20% lower chance of heart attack or stroke after receiving weekly Wegovy injections over an average period of 34 months. The trial, funded by Novo Nordisk (Wegovy’s manufacturer), involved over 17,600 participants from various global centers.
The latest analysis focuses on a subgroup of nearly 4,300 patients from the same trial, all of whom had heart failure—a condition where the heart’s ability to pump blood is impaired—at the trial’s outset.
The use of Wegovy in this group led to a 28% reduction in major adverse cardiac events, such as heart attacks or strokes, according to the findings. Specifically, 9.1% of patients on Wegovy experienced a major cardiac event, compared to 12.3% of those who received a placebo.
Additionally, heart failure patients on Wegovy saw a 24% reduction in deaths related to heart disease and a 19% reduction in deaths from any cause, the study revealed.
These positive outcomes were consistent regardless of the type of heart failure. Deanfield’s team compared results for patients with preserved ejection fraction (where the heart pumps normally but remains too stiff to fill properly) to those with reduced ejection fraction. The drug appeared to improve outcomes in both cases.
The exact mechanism by which semaglutide benefits heart failure patients is still being explored. However, the study authors suggest that the drug may improve blood sugar levels, lower blood pressure, reduce inflammation, and directly affect heart muscle and blood vessels.
The findings suggest that heart failure patients might benefit from adding semaglutide to their existing treatments, the British research team noted.
However, the study has some limitations. The larger trial wasn’t specifically focused on heart failure, so the researchers believe a separate trial targeting this patient group is necessary. Additionally, most participants in the trial were white and male, indicating a need for further research involving a more diverse population.
These findings were published on Aug. 23 in The Lancet journal.