Weight-loss Drug Cuts Heart Attack Risk No Matter How Many Kgs Are Shed, Study Finds

The weight-loss supplier semaglutide cuts nan consequence of bosom onslaught aliases changeable sloppy of really galore kilograms group lose, nan largest study of its benignant has found.

However, shrinking waist size – a motion of little belly fat – was linked to amended bosom outcomes, according to nan research.

The findings, published successful nan Lancet, propose narcotics could person wider benefits for patients beyond weight nonaccomplishment truthful should not beryllium restricted to nan astir obese patients.

Researchers group retired to analyse nan further benefits of semaglutide, which is nan main constituent of nan weight-loss supplier Wegovy.

The prime trial, led by University College London (UCL), looked astatine whether aliases not group taking nan supplier went connected to suffer a “major adverse cardiac event” – including bosom illness deaths, bosom attacks aliases strokes.

They examined information connected 17,604 group aged 45 and complete who were either overweight aliases obese.

Half of nan group taking portion successful nan study – which took spot crossed 41 countries – were fixed play injections of semaglutide. The different half were fixed a dummy drug, known arsenic a placebo.

Previous study of nan information recovered that semaglutide reduced nan consequence of awesome adverse cardiac events by 20%. Researchers person now recovered nan use was evident sloppy of really overmuch weight group mislaid while taking nan drug.

Academics said nan findings suggested location were aggregate ways nan supplier could use nan heart, alternatively than nan protective effect achieved solely by weight nonaccomplishment alone.

They recovered that moreover group who were only mildly overweight, pinch a assemblage wide scale (BMI) people of 27 – nan mean BMI people for UK adults – knowledgeable akin benefits to those who had nan highest BMI scores.

The benefits were besides mostly independent of really overmuch weight group mislaid successful nan first 4 months of treatment.

However, researchers did announcement a quality betwixt shrinking waistlines, measured by waist circumference, and bosom benefits.

Writing successful nan Lancet, they said that an “estimated 33% of nan observed use connected awesome adverse cardiovascular events was mediated done waist circumference reduction”.

The lead author, Prof John Deanfield, of UCL’s Institute of Cardiovascular Science, said: “Abdominal fat is much vulnerable for our cardiovascular wellness than wide weight and truthful it is not astonishing to spot a nexus betwixt simplification successful waist size and cardiovascular benefit.

“However, this still leaves two-thirds of nan bosom benefits of semaglutide unexplained. These findings reframe what we deliberation this medicine is doing.

“It is labelled arsenic a weight-loss jab but its benefits for nan bosom are not straight related to nan magnitude of weight mislaid – successful fact, it is simply a supplier that straight affects bosom illness and different diseases of ageing.”

He added: “This activity has implications for really semaglutide is utilized successful objective practice.

“You don’t person to suffer a batch of weight and you don’t request a precocious BMI to summation cardiovascular benefit. If your purpose is to trim cardiovascular disease, restricting its usage to a constricted clip only and for those pinch nan highest BMIs doesn’t make sense.

“At nan aforesaid time, nan benefits request to beryllium weighed against imaginable side-effects. Investigations of side-effects go particularly important fixed nan wide scope of group this medicine and others for illustration it could help.”