{"id":139710,"date":"2025-09-07T16:09:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-07T16:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/139710\/"},"modified":"2025-09-07T16:09:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T16:09:17","slug":"glp-1-drugs-help-prevent-hospitalization-early-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/139710\/","title":{"rendered":"GLP-1 Drugs Help Prevent Hospitalization, Early Death"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"InjectableShare on Pinterest<\/a>Weight loss drugs could help improve health outcomes in people with heart failure. The Good Brigade\/Getty ImagesResearchers report that the weight loss drugs semaglutide and tirzepatide can reduce the risk of hospitalization and death by 40% in people with a common type of heart failure.Experts say this large cohort study strengthens the case for using these GLP-1 medications in people with this heart condition.Regular exercise, a balanced diet, and quality sleep are important in maintaining good heart health.<\/p>\n

Two widely used weight loss drugs could significantly reduce the risk of complications in people with the most common type of heart failure<\/p>\n

The findings show that semaglutide<\/a>, commonly sold under the brand names Ozempic, Wegovy, and Rybelsus, produced similar benefits to those produced by tirzepatide<\/a>, commonly sold under the brand names Zepbound and Mounjaro. <\/p>\n

Semaglutide and tirzepatide reduced the risk of hospitalization for HFpEF and all-cause mortality by 40% compared to subjects who took the blood sugar medication sitagliptin<\/a>, commonly sold under the brand name Januvia.<\/p>\n

The researchers looked at five cohort studies that used data from healthcare claims in the United States between 2018 and 2024. Eligibility criteria were then expanded to evaluate treatment effects in patients typically treated in clinical practice. Finally, a head-to-head comparison of tirzepatide and semaglutide was implemented with a follow-up of 52 weeks.<\/p>\n

In all, the researchers examined 58,000 people in a semaglutide versus sitagliptin comparison. Another 11,000 people were in a group that compared tirzepatide and sitagliptin, while 28,000 patients were studied in a semaglutide versus tirzepatide comparison.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese findings complement early results from small clinical trials and support the use of semaglutide and tirzepatide in patients with cardiometabolic heart failure with preserved ejection fraction,\u201d the authors wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis study further strengthens the case for using GLP-1 agonists in obese patients with HFpEF, a type of heart failure<\/a> that is associated with significant morbidity and mortality,\u201d said Pooja Prasad<\/a>, MD, an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Advanced Heart Failure & Transplant Cardiology at the University of California San Francisco.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile recent randomized clinical trials have rightly generated a lot of interest in GLP-1 agonists, having these results, specifically reduction in the composite outcome of heart failure hospitalizations and all-cause mortality, replicated in a large cohort study will likely increase their utilization even before we see a change in guidelines,\u201d she told Healthline.<\/p>\n

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF<\/a>) affects about 3 million people in the United States and more than 30 million people worldwide.<\/p>\n

People with HFpEF are hospitalized an estimated 1.4 times per year and have an annual mortality rate of approximately 15%.<\/p>\n

Experts said the new research opens up the possibility of new treatments for people with this form of heart failure.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs this condition is the most common form of heart failure and is a disease with limited treatment options, these study results offer a tremendous opportunity for us to better manage patients with this diagnosis,\u201d said Cheng-Han Chen<\/a>, MD, an interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, CA.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese findings are important as they may broaden the indications for these medications and benefit a larger patient population,\u201d added Mir Ali<\/a>, MD, a general surgeon and bariatric surgeon as well as the medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA.<\/p>\n

Ali noted, however, that the study focused on people with high body mass index (BMI)<\/a> readings. He said he\u2019d like to see research done on the benefits of the weight loss medications<\/a> on people with this heart condition who don\u2019t have obesity or type 2 diabetes.<\/p>\n

\u201cA study separating the weight loss effects (and improvement in diabetes) from other benefits, and elucidating the mechanism, would be helpful to further ascertain how these drugs are working to reduce heart failure,\u201d he told Healthline.<\/p>\n

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates<\/a> that the prevalence of obesity among adults in the United States is about 40%.<\/p>\n

\u201cObesity affects every organ system in the body \u2014 from diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and even cancer. So, it is clear that reducing weight can improve or reverse the deleterious effects of obesity,\u201d said Ali.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough a variety of mechanisms, metabolic syndrome increases our risk for cardiovascular disease<\/a>, which can manifest as both acute and chronic blockages in the arteries supplying blood to our heart, strokes, heart rhythm abnormalities<\/a>, and heart failure (weakness and stiffness of the heart muscle).\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe GLP1 [weight loss] drugs are the best available medications for treatment of obesity. If the patient meets the criteria for surgery, that is even more effective,\u201d Ali said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to stop thinking of HFpEF as purely a cardiac disease<\/a>,\u201d added Prasad. \u201cIt is a consequence of metabolic syndrome, and treating it requires addressing metabolic syndrome, of which obesity is one key component.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chen told Healthline there are a number of lifestyle factors people can adopt to improve their cardiovascular health. They include:<\/p>\n

regular physical activityeating a healthy balanced dietgetting an adequate amount of quality sleepmaintaining a healthy weightavoiding tobacco and alcoholcontrolling blood pressure and cholesterol<\/a> numbers<\/p>\n

Experts say a heart-healthy diet<\/a> should avoid ultra-processed foods, sugars, and unhealthy fats.<\/p>\n

leafy green vegetableswhole grainsberriesbeanstomatoesalmonds<\/p>\n

Ali added that it\u2019s essential that people adopt healthy habits, even if they are taking weight loss medications.<\/p>\n

\u201cPatients need to realize that counseling, medications, and even surgery are tools to help the patient adopt a healthier diet and lifestyle, and like any other tool, if used properly, it works well,\u201d he said. \u201cHowever, it still requires the proper effort on the part of the patient.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Share on PinterestWeight loss drugs could help improve health outcomes in people with heart failure. The Good Brigade\/Getty…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":139711,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[97,87069,243],"class_list":{"0":"post-139710","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-heart-failure-glp-1-drugs-weight-loss","10":"tag-medication"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139710"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139710\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}