For years, medications like semaglutide (Ozempic®, Wegovy®) have been viewed primarily as weight-loss or diabetes drugs. But that’s no longer the full story.
Semaglutide has now been shown to reduce heart attacks, strokes, and cardiovascular death—even in patients without diabetes.
In my practice I have seen these results first-hand and has been incredible. We have known that obesity is an independent risk factor for cardiac disease and death from cardiovascular disease. Now we have a treatment option that addresses obesity, which is often the root cause of the problem.
As I have mentioned in other blog posts, GLP medications reach far beyond the number on the scale. They can have profound preventative effects throughout the body and here is some evidence of what has been discovered so far.
Who Was Studied?
The SELECT trial enrolled over 17,000 adults with overweight or obesity and established cardiovascular disease, but without diabetes.
What Was the Primary Endpoint?
Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE): cardiovascular death, nonfatal heart attack, and nonfatal stroke.
How Large Was the Benefit?
Semaglutide reduced major cardiovascular events by 20% relative risk, with absolute reduction from ~8.0% to 6.5%. Semaglutide reduces major cardiovascular events in diabetics by 40%.
Why This Matters
This is the first time a weight-management medication has demonstrated cardiovascular risk reduction in patients without diabetes.
Key Takeaways
– Semaglutide is not just for weight loss
– It reduces cardiovascular events
– Applicable to patients with obesity and cardiovascular disease
– Remember this is a HUGE win that can’t be overstated
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References
Lincoff AM, et al. NEJM 2023
ACC SELECT Trial Summary
Kosiborod MN, et al. The Lancet 2024