A weight-loss drug containing semaglutide (an active ingredient in Ozempic or Wegovy) may improve symptoms of heart failure in obese patients, a new study reports.
A weight-loss drug would have beneficial effects in patients suffering fromobesity and heart failureaccording to a trial of the European Society of Cardiology whose results were presented on August 25, 2023 at the ESC 2023 Congress which took place in Amsterdam (Netherlands). More specifically, it is a medicine containing semaglutidea substance notably marketed under the name Ozempic® Or Wegovy® in the form of self-injecting syringes, which would be able, in these patients, to improve their symptoms (shortness of breath, exercise intoleranceswelling/edema) and their physical function related to heart failure and lead to significant weight loss. To achieve this result, the researchers conducted a randomized, double-blind trial conducted in 13 countries from Asia, Europe, North America and South America. They divided into two groups 529 patients (56% women and 44% men, mean age 69) with obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m²), functional limitations in their daily life and symptoms of heart failure, with qu is called a limited “preserved ejection fraction”, in other words, the reflection of a poor contractile function of the heart.
The first group received 2.4 mg semaglutide (the trade name of the drug was not revealed in the study) subcutaneously once a week for 1 year while the other group received a placebo. At the end of the trial, the patients in the first group saw their weight drop by 13% compared to 2.6% for the second group and the symptoms of heart failure improved by 20% under semaglutide compared to 5% under placebo. Regarding physical activity, patients on semaglutide were able to do 320 meters more on foot than patients on placebo. It should be noted that serious adverse events were reported in 35 patients on semaglutide (13.3%) and in 71 patients on placebo (26.7%).
Ozempic is not licensed for the treatment of obesity
“This result is likely to have a significant impact on clinical practice, especially since there is a shortage of effective therapies in this vulnerable patient group. We believe these results should also change the nature of the debate about the role of obesity in heart failure, as the results clearly indicate that obesity is not simply a comorbidity in patients with heart failure, but a root cause and a target for therapeutic intervention“, comments Dr. Mikhail Kosiborod, lead author of the study.
In Francealthough it is sometimes misused for weight loss purposes, Ozempic® is not not allowed in the treatment of obesitybut only in case of diabetes of type 2 insufficiently controlled, recalls theANSMunlike Wegovy® (containing the same active substance) which is indicated to him in addition to a hypocaloric diet and an increase in physical activity for weight management in adults with an initial body mass index (BMI) ≥ 35 kg/m² and aged ≤ 65 years in case of failure of well-conducted nutritional care (< 5% weight loss at six months), can we read in an opinion from the High Authority for Health of December 22, 2022. These two drugs are available only by prescription.