Researchers discovered semaglutide—the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy—may reduce the risk of death and lower the chance of developing cardiovascular conditions like stroke and heart attack in people with heart failure, adding to the growing list of diseases researchers have found the drug may help prevent.
The researchers looked at data from 4,286 overweight or obese participants with heart failure who took semaglutide between October 2018 and March 2021, according to the study published Thursday in the Lancet.
Semaglutide—the generic name for Ozempic and Wegovy—is a drug used to manage weight loss in overweight or obese people, and treat Type 2 diabetes.
The researchers previously found the drug caused a 20% decrease in major adverse cardiovascular events like stroke and heart attack in people with cardiovascular disease who were also overweight or obese, but there were concerns semaglutide would be harmful for people with heart failure.
However, the new Lancet study found semaglutide had similar benefits in people with heart failure: the drug was linked to a 28% reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events, and a 24% reduction in cardiovascular disease-related deaths.
The study also found the drug resulted in a 19% lower risk of dying from all causes of death, something the researchers believe may indicate “the potential for other, as yet unknown, benefits.”
The exact reason why semaglutide positively affects the heart is unknown, but some point to the drug’s positive impacts on blood pressure, blood sugar, inflammation and its direct effects on the heart muscle and blood vessels, according to the researchers. Because the drug works to increase insulin levels, it in turn lowers blood sugar levels, since insulin directly impacts blood sugar. Semaglutide has anti-inflammatory benefits because it suppresses the release of cytokines, which are proteins that trigger inflammation responses in the immune system. Researchers are unsure of the exact way semaglutide works to lower blood pressure, but some think its ability to cause weight loss may be a factor. High blood pressure, blood sugar and inflammation are three risk factors that increase the chance of developing heart disease and other cardiovascular disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
6.5 million. That’s how many Americans over the age of 20 have heart failure, according to the Heart Failure Society of America. The disease is common, and contributes to up to 36% of all cardiovascular disease deaths.
Manufactured by Novo Nordisk, Ozempic was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for Type 2 diabetes in 2017, and Wegovy was approved for weight loss in 2021. Semaglutide is a part of a class of drugs called GLP-1s, which are drugs designed to manage Type 2 diabetes and obesity by lowering blood sugar and A1C, interacting with the hunger part of the brain to suppress the appetite and slowing down the process of food emptying from the stomach, causing patients to feel full longer. Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide—which is branded as Mounjaro and Zepbound—is another GLP-1. Research has shown these drugs may offer several other benefits. GLP-1s were associated with a “significant risk reduction” for 10 different cancers when used to treat Type 2 diabetes compared to insulin, according to research published in JAMA Oncology. Obese participants who took semaglutide saw between a 50%-56% reduction in developing alcohol use disorder, according to a June study. Researchers found tirzepatide reduced the chance of developing Type 2 diabetes by 94% in people with prediabetes. This class of drugs has also been found to potentially treat other conditions, like depression, anxiety, kidney disease, fatty liver disease, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, sleep apnea and bipolar disorder.
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