Heart benefits not solely due to weight loss: Drug maker Novo on its popular Wegovy obesity treatment

Philadelphia, US

Leading global healthcare firm Novo Nordisk on Saturday (Nov 12) said that the cardiovascular benefits of its immensely popular obesity treatment, Wegovy, were not solely attributable to the process of its weight loss process.

The study was presented at the American Heart Association annual scientific meeting in Philadelphia which saw the presence of many experts from the medical field.  

Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the findings revealed that Wegovy, recognised chemically as semaglutide, has additional positive cardiovascular effects that emerged before the patients even began to shed weight.

Novo said that this implied that the heart benefits were not just associated with weight loss. 

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Can Wegovy be a primary treatment for heart diseases?

Dr. Chad Weldy, a cardiologist at Stanford University, said that the trial focused on how semaglutide might prevent heart disease from worsening and not how it can be prevented. 

Considering the extensive 17,604-patient trial, the study should make doctors contemplate about who can be prescribed Wegovy. 

“Anyone who has had a heart attack or obstructive coronary disease and has a body mass index of more than 27 fits in with this study, which is a very large patient population,” he said.

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During the medical conference, Dr. Bruno Halpern, head of the obesity centre at Hospital 9 de Julho in Sao Paulo, Brazil, also argued that Wegovy should now be considered a frontline treatment for heart disease. 

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August's trial conducted by the Danish pharmaceutical company indicated that Wegovy not only facilitated an average weight loss of 15 percent but also demonstrated a 20 percent reduction in the incidence of heart attack, stroke, or death from heart disease.

Examining overweight and obese patients with preexisting heart disease but without diabetes, the study revealed that Wegovy led to a 28 per cent reduction in non-fatal heart attacks, a 7 per cent decrease in non-fatal strokes, and a 15 percent drop in heart-related deaths compared to the placebo. 

There are however several risk factors associated with the obesity treatment which include inflammation, blood sugar control, and blood pressure. 

(With inputs from agencies)