CLEVELAND, Ohio — An active ingredient in popular medications used to treat diabetes and promote weight loss reduces the risk of heart attacks and other heart problems in people who are overweight, even if they are not diabetics, announced Cleveland Clinic cardiologist Dr. Michael Lincoff at the American Heart Association conference in Philadelphia today.
Lincoff presented the results of an international clinical trial designed to study the impact of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, on heart health in non-diabetics who took the drug solely for weight loss.
They found that the drug reduces the risk of heart attack and cardiac arrest in these patients by 20%.
Semaglutide is primarily prescribed to adults with type 2 diabetes under the brand name Ozempic. It is also approved under the brand name Wegovy for chronic weight management in adults with obesity or overweight individuals.
The study, known as SELECT (Semaglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients with Overweight or Obesity Who Do Not Have Diabetes), aimed to determine whether adults taking the drug for weight loss would also experience positive effects on the heart.
Over five years, the study collected data on over 17,000 patients in 41 countries. All patients were aged 45 and older, had a body mass index of 27 or higher, had no history of diabetes, and had previously suffered a heart attack, stroke, or other cardiovascular diseases.
Patients were followed for an average of 40 months. They received weekly injections of semaglutide or a placebo. Those who received semaglutide lost an average of nearly 10% of their body weight and experienced health improvements without any obvious risks.
The results were also published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.
By 2035, more than half of the world’s population is projected to be overweight or obese. High body mass index caused 4 million deaths worldwide in 2015, with over two-thirds attributed to cardiovascular diseases.
“There is increasing understanding that obesity and overweight are truly metabolic diseases, but effective treatment options have been quite limited,” said Dr. Lincoff. “This semaglutide study demonstrates the effectiveness of a new approach to reducing excess risk associated with obesity, including serious and potentially fatal cardiovascular complications.”
Although the effects of semaglutide on weight loss likely occur primarily through appetite suppression, researchers assert that the drug has other positive actions that may benefit the heart, including lowering blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels, as well as reducing inflammation and having a beneficial effect on the heart muscle and blood vessels.
