Two types of drugs can reduce a stroke patient’s future risk of health emergencies GLP-1 weight loss drugs like Ozempic can decrease their risk of heart attack or death SGLT2 diabetes meds like Jardiance or Farxiga do the same, and also decrease risk of a follow-up stroke MONDAY, Nov. 11, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- The weight-loss drug Ozempic can help reduce patients’ risk of a heart attack or death, a new study says. GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like or SGLT2 diabetes medications like or both helped protect the health of people following a stroke, researchers found.
Patients taking either a GLP-1 or SGLT2 drug had a 74% lower risk of death and an 84% lower risk of a heart attack within an average three years after their stroke, results show. SGLT2 drugs also were associated with a 67% lower risk of a second stroke, researchers report. “Unfortunately, a quarter of people who survive a stroke will have another stroke, and they are also at risk for other cardiovascular events such as a heart attack since many of the risk factors of a stroke are also associated with other forms of heart disease,” said lead researcher , an internal medicine physician and research scholar at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
“Managing these risks, as well as looking at novel approaches to help lower the chances of another stroke, heart attack or death among this population are all critical steps in increasing stroke survival and improving the quality of life for people who have had a stroke,.