How Does The Weight Loss Drug Semaglutide Prevent Your Heart?

The diabetes drug semaglutide has been in the news lately for its ability to trigger effortless weight loss. Many research also suggest that this drug may also be good for heart health. Let's understand how.

How does Semaglutide regulate heart health?

A study was conducted where authorities extended the use of this weight loss drug to non-diabetics who were overweight. This was done as a part of a prevention therapy against cardiac diseases. As a result, Semaglutide reduced the risk of death from heart disease, nonfatal heart attack, and nonfatal stroke by 20 percent, reports NYU Langone. This was for people with some sort of heart disease and obesity problems but were non-diabetic.

Dr Howard Weintraub, MD, clinical director of the Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, and one of the prinicipal investigators at the trial, while speaking to NYU Langone said, ‘’This is an important study because it's the first time a weight loss drug has been shows to reduce the risk of heart disease, inclduin the risk of death.''

He further explained that while using the drug, there was an overall reduced risk of heart failure. There was also evidence of the kidney being protected.

How does Semaglutide protect the heart?

According to NYU langone, the drug did something that completely changed the cardiovascular outcomes. However, what exactly happened there is still unclear. The drug did not affect total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, or blood pressure. On an average, patients also lost 10 percent of their body weight. The report also elaborated on the best candidates for semglutide and it narrows it down to: someone with cardiovascular disease who is overwight or obese.

The drug is approved for use in patients who are overwight and have a weight-related medical condition. This includes type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol.

Semaglutide belongs to a class of drugs known as glucagon-like peptide 1 receptors agonists. It does exactly what the incretin hormone GLP-1 does after being released by the gut after eating. This stimulates insulin production, decreses glucagon production and slows gastric emptying. All of these functions tehn work together to moderate blood sugar levels, hence decreasing the strain on the cardiovascular system.