Popular weight-loss drug reduces risk of heart complications, study finds
Take a weight loss medication Data shows it may also help reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and cardiac death.
WegovyA drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat obesity reduced the risk of heart attack, stroke and cardiac death in people who were overweight or obese and had heart failure, a study found. published August 24, in the medical journal Lancet.
The study, funded by Novo Nordisk, the maker of Wegovy, involved more than 17,000 people in 41 countries who were over the age of 45 and had pre-existing heart disease.
More than 4,000 people in the study had some form of heart failure.
People treated with Wegovy, which contains the active ingredient semaglutide, experienced a reduction in major cardiac events of up to 28%, as well as a 24% reduction in the risk of death from cardiac causes and a 19% reduction in the risk of death from any cause.
In this illustration photo, the injectable weight loss medication Wegovy is available at New City Halstead Pharmacy on April 24, 2024 in Chicago.
Scott Olson/Getty Images, ARCHIVES
Previous data from the same study, published In December, the New England Journal of Medicine found that taking Wegovy reduced the risk of heart problems by up to 44 percent in people who were overweight or obese and did not have diabetes.
Over an average of 34 months, people in the study taking Wegovy not only saw their risk of heart complications decrease, but also saw their blood pressure drop and weight loss be greater than those in the placebo group.
Wegovy is in a class of drugs called GLP-1 receptor agonists that help people increase the amount of insulin in their body to lower the amount of sugar in their blood.
Semaglutide, the active ingredient in the drug, works by slowing the movement of food through the stomach and reducing appetite, thereby causing weight loss.
In the study, nearly 17% of Wegovy users had side effects, including heart, gastrointestinal and nervous system problems, serious enough to cause them to drop out of the study.
Among all the drugs used for weight loss, the most commonly reported side effects are nausea and constipation, but irreversible diseases of the gallbladder and pancreas are also reported.
The manufacturers of these medications recommend having a discussion about the side effect profile and individualized risks with a healthcare professional before starting.
ABC News Medical Staff Writer Kierstin Luber, DO, MPH, contributed to this report.
