The present trial was sponsored by Novo Nordisk, the maker of Wegovy and Ozempic, and tracked sufferers for 2 years at locations worldwide. Half of the members acquired weekly injections of semaglutide whereas the opposite half acquired a placebo. Neither group knew which they have been getting. More than three-quarters of the sufferers had beforehand skilled a coronary heart assault, and near 1 / 4 had persistent coronary heart failure. The common age of the volunteers was 61.6, and about three-quarters have been males.

In sufferers taking semaglutide, coronary heart charge, blood stress, levels of cholesterol, and a biomarker of irritation dropped by a bigger diploma than in these getting a placebo. But what the trial investigators have been most fascinated about was whether or not semaglutide might cut back the danger of main cardiovascular occasions. During the examine, 234 sufferers within the semaglutide group skilled a nonfatal coronary heart assault, and 154 had a nonfatal stroke, in contrast with 322 and 165 within the placebo group, respectively. Out of these taking semaglutide, 97 have been hospitalized or visited an pressing care clinic for coronary heart failure, in contrast with 122 taking a placebo. Overall, 223 folks within the semaglutide group died from cardiovascular causes, whereas 262 on the placebo handed away throughout the trial.

“This is an exciting and groundbreaking study demonstrating that obesity treatment can save lives and reduce the incidence of cardiovascular events,” says Ariana Chao, a diet researcher on the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, who wasn’t concerned within the trial.

Some sufferers discontinued the trial due to gastrointestinal signs related to semaglutide. Those included nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea—known side effects of GLP-1 drugs.

It’s not completely clear why semaglutide has such an enormous impact on cardiovascular danger. Much of the profit can probably be defined by weight reduction induced by the drug. Those on semaglutide within the newest trial misplaced a median of 9.4 p.c of their physique weight in contrast with folks taking the placebo, who misplaced lower than 1 p.c.

But sufferers didn’t hit their most weight reduction till round 65 weeks into the trial, suggesting that there could also be different elements at play past simply weight reduction. “Notably, the differences in rates between the two treatment groups began to emerge very early after initiation of treatment within the first months,” stated A. Michael Lincoff, a heart specialist on the Cleveland Clinic and one of many investigators on the trial, on the information convention.