United States – Both Ozempic and Wegovy for weight loss could stop heart issues in overweight and obese patients with kidney disease, according to the latest clinical trial study, as reported by HealthDay.
The drugs’ active ingredient, semaglutide, cut heart health risk by 20% in overweight patients who had been taking the product for over three years, researchers revealed on Wednesday in Madrid at the annual European Association for the Study of Diabetes.
Semaglutide Shows Consistent Results
It was also noted that they “found a similar percentage reduction in cardiovascular disease with semaglutide in those with and without poor kidney function,” as per Colhoun, who is a lead researcher at the University of Edinburgh in the U.K.
That’s especially good news for people who suffer from kidney diseases, as Colhoun explained it.
“Because background risk of cardiovascular disease is higher in people with poor kidney function, absolute risk reduction is highest in this group,” Colhoun said on meeting Dispatch. “Its effects on cardiovascular health are expected and beneficial since patients who have impaired kidney function are associated with greater risks of heart diseases; the results showed reduced risk significantly by the use of semaglutide. ”
Semaglutide works by mimicking the GLP-1 hormone made in the intestines, which contributes to satiety, digestion, and blood sugar regulation.
Implications for Cardiovascular and Renal Disease Management
In the trial, over 17,600 overweight or obese people globally were randomly selected to receive either semaglutide or a placebo for an average of 40 months.
Investigators noted that the participants were recruited from the period 2018 through 2023, and all of them had a prior event of heart attack, stroke, or peripheral artery disease. None of them had diabetes.
Researchers followed the patients to find out if they still had a myocardial infarction, stroke, or other cardiovascular complications after they began using either semaglutide or a placebo.
Patients on semaglutide saw their average weight decrease to more than 9% of their body weight if compared to those on a placebo.
As for cardiovascular issues with semaglutide, the study showed that participants with nominally healthy kidneys were 18% less likely to experience heart complications or die on average than those who took a placebo.
Semaglutide Lowers Heart Disease
Semaglutide lessened heart disease risks by 31% and an overall death risk by 33% among the patients suffering from kidney disease.
“The cardiovascular effects of semaglutide highlighted in the study contribute to weighing the role of semaglutide as one of the treatment options for cardiovascular and renal diseases in the increasing population of obese patients,” Colhoun added.
Findings Not Yet Peer-Reviewed
But the investigators pointed out that the findings cannot be generalized to all patients with kidney disease or failure because the trial included only people with cardiovascular disease before they received semaglutide, as reported by HealthDay.
These findings were shown at a medical meeting and thus have to be considered inconclusive or preliminary until the results are given in a peer-reviewed journal.