- A small study found that the popular weight-loss drug semaglutide may help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
- After one year, study participants showed improvements in several cardiovascular risk factors, including blood pressure, total cholesterol and triglycerides.
- Some experts suggest that by treating obesity, Ozympic can reduce the risk factors for heart disease.
A new study has confirmed that the popular weight loss drug semaglutideSold under the brand names Wegovy and Ozempic, it can help reduce the risk of occurrence Cardiovascular diseaseas well as.
The findings, presented at this year’s European Obesity Congress in Dublin, Ireland, showed that several cardiovascular risk factors, including blood pressure, total cholesterol and triglycerides, were reduced after one year of taking semaglutide.
Cardiologists believe that anti-obesity drugs improve heart health by improving these risk factors that contribute to heart disease.
Although more research is needed to better understand the effects of semaglutide, the findings suggest that people at risk of heart disease may benefit from taking semaglutide.
“In this small retrospective study, among individuals who were overweight or obese, the use of a specific agent aimed at total weight loss appeared to improve cardiovascular risk as measured by a well-used risk calculator. Ajay Kumar D. RaoMD, MMSC, FACP, chief of the division of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism and associate professor of medicine at Temple University’s Lewis Katz School of Medicine, who was not part of the original study, told Healthline.
To understand the effects of semaglutide on cardiovascular disease in overweight people Excessive obesityThe researchers reviewed the health data of 93 patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 27 kilograms or more without a history of cardiovascular disease.
Using demographic, clinical, and lipid panel data, they calculated each patient’s 10-year risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (10-year ASCVD) before starting semaglutide and one year after taking semaglutide.
of 10-year ASCVD The Risk Assessor is a tool developed by the American College of Cardiology that predicts a person’s 10-year risk of developing atherosclerotic heart disease.
It can be used to guide potential treatment plans for people at risk for heart disease.
The group’s 10-year ASCVD was reduced by 1.38 percent, from 7.64 percent before taking semaglutide to 6.26 percent 12 months after taking the anti-obesity drug.
The researchers measured several cardiovascular risk factors, including percentage of total body weight loss blood pressure, HbA1c (blood sugar control measure) Fasting glucose, lipid panel, Blood pressure medicationsAnd using aspirin and Statin Before the patients started taking semaglutide and at their last follow-up visit.
After one year of taking semaglutide, the participants’ blood pressure dropped significantly – by an average of 9.3/4.9 mmHg – as did total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting glucose and HbA1c.
Patients also lost an average of 10.9 percent of their body weight.
There were some limitations of the report.
Supreeti BehuriaThe study, MD, a cardiologist at Staten Island University Hospital, included a small sample size of less than 100 and a short follow-up of less than a year. Behuria was not involved in the study.
“Ninety-one percent of the patients were white, so this study is not representative of our diverse patient population and I’m surprised by its applicability in a broader context,” Behuria said.
Although the report suggests that Ozempic may have a positive effect on cardiovascular health, more research with larger samples and longer follow-up is needed to better understand the short- and long-term effects.
Mir Ali, MD, a bariatric surgeon and medical director of the Memorial Care Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Falls Valley, CA, says there are several mechanisms by which obesity increases the risk of cardiovascular disease — primarily, obesity increases the accumulation of atherosclerotic plaque in the arteries. increases, puts people at risk of myocardial infarction. Alim was not part of the original study.
Excess body fat in obesity contributes to other risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and sleep apnea, Behuria says.
“In my opinion, it’s not the drug itself that reduces the risk of heart disease, but the weight loss as a result of taking it,” Ali said.
According to Rao, obesity is one of the most targetable and modifiable risk factors for obesity.
“It’s semaglutide. [a] A drug that reduces body weight and helps in the treatment of obesity. By treating obesity, it helps to reduce cardiovascular risks, which further reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease,” said Behuria.
A new study has found that the popular weight loss drug semaglutide may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Several cardiovascular risk factors, including blood pressure, total cholesterol, and triglycerides, improved one year after taking semaglutide.
By treating obesity, semaglutide appears to reduce risk factors for heart disease.