GLP-1 receptor agonists such as semaglutide are changing the way type 2 diabetes and obesity are treated. But these drugs have also shown a surprising ability to improve cardiovascular health — and not just because losing weight benefits the heart.
“These effects were not predicted,” said Michael Nauck, MD, head of clinical research at the Diabetes Division of St. Josef Hospital at Ruhr University Bochum in Bochum, Germany. “There were no animal studies or even basic physiology suggesting they would be helpful for the cardiovascular system.”
In 2008, the FDA ordered a series of cardiovascular outcomes trials after two studies suggested lowering blood sugar could be dangerous for the heart in patients with type 2 diabetes. All of the drugs tested were shown to be safe, and several showed significant reductions in composite major adverse cardiovascular event endpoints, which usually included cardiovascular death, nonfatal heart attack, and nonfatal ischemic stroke, compared with placebo. Read more by tapping the link: https://t.co/kunVFBEOTZ