Study finds Ozempic good for the heart, not just weight loss
3 Min Read
One year-long study spanning 13 countries shows that Ozempic has helped in improving the quality of life of heart failure patients.
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The anti-diabetic medication Ozempic (Semaglutide) was made by the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk. (AFP)
Semaglutide jabs being used as weight loss drugs are now reported to have a great impact on the heart, according to a global study that is the first of its kind.
As heart failure is one of the world's most growing threats to health, with about 65 million people suffering from the condition and a few treatment options available, the fact that a drug like Ssemaglutide, which is usually sold under the names Ozempic, Wegovy, and Rybelsus, can trigger "very large improvements" across a wide range of symptoms may be game-changing.
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"We are talking about marked improvements in symptoms such as shortness of breath, fatigue, inability to have physical exertion, swelling," said the lead author of the study, Dr. Mikhail Kosiborod, a cardiologist and vice-president for research at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Missouri. "These types of improvements can be very impactful for patients living with heart failure."
The study's findings were revealed on the first day of the world's largest heart conference, in the European Society of Cardiology's annual meeting, and was lauded by experts who said it could leave a "transformational impact" on the lives of millions.
During the study, researchers used Semaglutide to treat heart failure patients suffering from stiff heart pumps. The trial included 529 patients from 13 countries in four continents. All patients involved had a BMI of over 30, with a median age of 69 and a median weight of 105.1kg.
One group was given a weekly dose of 2.4mg of semaglutide for a year, while the other was given a placebo. The study looked at changes in body weight, symptoms related to heart failure, and whether or not patients were able to perform better at walking for six minutes, and results were markedly better for patients who received the Semaglutide jabs, with body weight being reduced by a mean of 13.3% in the jab group, in contrast to the 2.6% of the placebo group.
"These findings are impressive and impactful. The benefits we observed with semaglutide versus placebo on these very important outcomes for patients with this type of heart failure – their symptoms and physical function – are the largest that we have ever seen with any pharmacologic intervention in this patient population," Kosiborod said.
The medication "produced large improvements in symptoms, physical limitations and exercise function, reduced inflammation, and resulted in greater weight loss and fewer serious adverse events as compared with placebo".
"This study demonstrates that semaglutide is not only safe for people with this type of heart failure but it also has important benefits for their quality of life," according to Dr. Sonya Babu-Narayan, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation.
"For some people, living with heart failure can make everyday activities difficult or even impossible. The kind of improvements seen in this study, such as being able to walk further, could have a transformational impact on someone’s life."
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