Semaglutide heart benefits extend beyond weight loss, study finds

The diabetes and weight-loss medication semaglutide significantly lowers the risk of heart attacks and strokes, with new research indicating this benefit occurs independently of weight reduction. Published this week in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet, the findings suggest the drug, marketed as Wegovy, provides crucial cardiovascular protection through mechanisms beyond mere weight management.

Landmark International Research

The extensive study analyzed data from 17,604 participants across 41 countries, all aged 45 or older and classified as overweight or obese. In this randomized trial, half of the participants received a weekly semaglutide injection, while the other half were given a placebo. The research specifically tracked the occurrence of "major adverse cardiac events," a category encompassing heart-related deaths, non-fatal heart attacks, and strokes.

Cardiovascular Risk Reduction

An initial analysis of the trial data had already demonstrated that semaglutide reduced the risk of these major cardiac events by 20%. The new findings clarify that this protective effect was observed in patients regardless of the total amount of weight they lost during the treatment period. The benefits on cardiovascular outcomes were largely independent of weight loss observed in the first four months of therapy.

Mechanisms of Heart Protection

According to the researchers, the results point to multiple pathways through which semaglutide safeguards heart health, not solely through its known effect on body mass. While the total weight loss was not the primary mediator, the study did identify a significant correlation: approximately one-third of the drug's positive effect on cardiovascular events was linked to a reduction in waist circumference, a key indicator of abdominal fat.