Prescribed the weight loss drug Mounjaro<\/a>, the results were dramatic. He lost 65kg last year, but there were other benefits.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve reversed diabetes, I\u2019ve reversed my hypertension, I\u2019ve quit smoking cigarettes,\u201d Kenny said. \u201cI used to feel pressure on my chest on a regular basis and now I don\u2019t feel any of that.\u201d<\/p>\n New research has found these GLP-1 medications may protect the heart beyond helping people lose weight.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t have to be the heaviest person to get benefit from this type of medication,\u201d Purnell said.<\/p>\n The Heart Foundation on Monday recommended the drugs for patients with heart disease or high cardiac risk in new national obesity guidelines, which could benefit thousands of Australians.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the next decade about half of our population will be living with obesity. It\u2019s incredibly timely for us to do better to manage this,\u201d spokesperson Natalie Raffoul said.<\/p>\n But with these medications still costing hundreds of dollars a month, pressure is mounting on the federal government to expand subsidies for those high-risk patients<\/a>, as well as calls for the drug companies to lower their prices and put patients over profit.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hope that everybody has the access to these medicines that need it,\u201d Raffoul said.<\/p>\n Scott says the treatment changed his life. He remembers when he was a 4XL. Now he wears his new lease on life.<\/p>\n![\"Heart](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/42bcec8dc4d97688e701b7fe54331eac37feb40e-16x9-x0y0w1920h1080.png\")
Heart experts push for subsidised weight loss drugs to prevent heart attacks Credit: 7NEWS<\/p>\n