Topline Researchers discovered semaglutide—the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy—may reduce the risk of death and lower the chance of developing cardiovascular conditions like stroke and heart attack in people with heart failure, adding to the growing list of diseases researchers have found the drug may help prevent. A semaglutide injection pen is seen on a kitchen table in Riga, Latvia on 06 August, 2023. (Photo by .
.. [+] Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Key Facts The researchers looked at data from 4,286 overweight or obese participants with heart failure who took semaglutide between October 2018 and March 2021, according to the study published Thursday in the Lancet.
Semaglutide—the generic name for Ozempic and Wegovy—is a drug used to manage weight loss in overweight or obese people, and treat Type 2 diabetes. The researchers previously found the drug caused a 20% decrease in major adverse cardiovascular events like stroke and heart attack in people with cardiovascular disease who were also overweight or obese, but there were concerns semaglutide would be harmful for people with heart failure. However, the new Lancet study found semaglutide had similar benefits in people with heart failure: the drug was linked to a 28% reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events, and a 24% reduction in cardiovascular disease-related deaths.
The study also found the drug resulted in a 19% lower risk of dying from all causes of death, something the researchers bel.