A popular weight loss medication may yield even more health benefits to patients.
A new study revealed that patients taking Wegovy are at a lower risk of heart attacks. This is on top of the drug’s ability to help patients lose weight.
Wegovy, which has the main component, semaglutide, is one of several new medications designed to treat obesity in adults. This drug, among others, was also approved for use in adolescents following adjusted body mass index (BMI) charts due to the increasing numbers of those afflicted, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
A new study from the New England Journal of Medicine published on November 11 indicates that the medication may yield additional benefits.
Researchers conducted a randomized study of 17,604 individuals who were at least 45 years old, had cardiovascular disease, had a BMI of at least 27, and did not have any previous history of diabetes.
From the sample, 8,803 were given weekly 2.4 mg of semaglutide, while another 8,801 received a placebo for roughly 40 months.
“In patients with preexisting cardiovascular disease and overweight or obesity but without diabetes, weekly subcutaneous semaglutide at a dose of 2.4 mg was superior to placebo in reducing the incidence of death from cardiovascular causes, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or nonfatal stroke at a mean follow-up of 39.8 months,” read the study.
Between the two groups, the incidence of a heart attack or stroke due to preexistent cardiovascular conditions was 6.5% in the group that took the medication, compared to 8% in the placebo group.
“The difference between the two groups may not sound like much, but it’s a massive result,” said Amit Khera, a cardiologist at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, according to Science News.
A. Michael Lincoff, a cardiologist at Cleveland Clinic who presented the study to the American Heart Association, said that he and other scientists are still analyzing the data.
