A weight loss drug can significantly cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes, thus taking a major step towards improving cardiovascular health, as shown by the new study. Experts think that this injection with semaglutide, which has the same effect as the invention of statins in the 1990s, is as significant for the human race as the first injection. 

The research, which was shown at the European Congress of Obesity, showed that the people who were taking semaglutide (viz, Wegovy and Ozempic) had a 20% less risk of a heart attack, a stroke, or a cardiovascular death than the people who were given a placebo. Significantly, this benefit was observed in the case of the participants regardless of the amount of their weight loss, thus indicating the drug has benefits for the cardiovascular system besides weight loss. 

“This great drug is a game-changer,” said Professor Deanfield, the study’s lead author. This indicates that there are probably other mechanisms by which the cardiovascular system is being benefitted.  . .  Unquestionably, something else that is good for the cardiovascular system needs to be done. 

The research enlisted more than 17,000 participants from 41 countries, all with a BMI over 27 and a history of cardiovascular events. Half of the patients were given semaglutide injections weekly for an average period of 40 months, and the rest got placebo. The outcome of the research demonstrated a definite edge for the semaglutide group, i.e., few of them had heart attacks as opposed to the placebo group. 

Professor Deanfield said that semaglutide would be as effective as statins, which revolutionized cardiology. “We now have a class of drugs that could be as transformative in many chronic diseases of aging as this one has been,” he said. 

This research also has important economic implications. Professor Jason Halford, the president of the European Association for the Study of Obesity, believes that the broad use of semaglutide would save healthcare systems money in the future. “The expenses to the NHS will be reduced drastically,” he said. People are already contemplating economic savings because of the possibility of increasing productivity. 

These results align with the research that used the same clinical trial data. This showed that the participants on semaglutide lost an average of 10% of their body weight and a large waist circumference over four years. At the same time, the placebo group had only slight changes. 

On the other hand, while semaglutide is the most effective weight-loss drug, research into more effective drugs is still in progress. A study on a new injection called retitatrutide proved that the participants had lost 24% of their body weight in a year. This indicates that retitatrutide is even more effective than the medications currently available. 

Professor Naveed Sattar, involved in trials of other weight-loss treatments, expressed optimism: Five or ten years ago, we could not have imagined a drug that would cause this much weight loss.  If we give this drug even longer, it could reach almost 30% of someone’s body weight. 

The joint research on semaglutide and retatrutide gives a great impression of the future of weight control and heart health. Progress in this field could radically reduce the heart disease burden and improve the health conditions of millions.