What happened Prescribing weight-loss injections could help cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes in middle aged people by a fifth, according to a study.
Who said what The study, presented at the European Congress of Obesity (ECO), found that semaglutide, which is found in brands including Wegovy and Ozempic, lowers the risk of heart attack, stroke or death from cardiovascular disease by 20%. This finding "could be the largest medical breakthrough since statins", said The Guardian.
The trial, led by researchers at University College London, involved more than 17,500 adults over the age of 45 who had heart disease – which affects 7.6 million in Britain – or had suffered a heart attack or stroke. As well as lowering the risk of heart disease, participants in the trial who took semaglutide also lost 9% of their body weight on average.
This "fantastic drug really is a gamechanger", said professor of cardiology John Deanfield, who led the research. The trial shows that semaglutide "targets the underlying biology of chronic diseases" independently of their effect on weight loss.
What next? The discovery is "set to transform clinical practice in the NHS", said The Times. Semaglutide is likely to be "prescribed en masse by the end of the decade" in a bid to reduce heart attacks and strokes, similar to how statins or blood pressure medication are provided to millions of patients now. |