Semaglutide—sold as Ozempic for type 2 diabetes and as Wegovy for weight loss—may help prevent heart attacks and strokes.
Researchers randomly assigned 17,604 people aged 45 or older with excess weight to a weekly injection of semaglutide (2.4 milligrams) or a placebo. All had either had an earlier heart attack or stroke or had symptomatic peripheral arterial disease, but not diabetes. The trial was funded by semaglutide’s maker, Novo Nordisk.
After roughly three years, those assigned to semaglutide had a 20 percent lower risk of a cardiovascular event (mostly a heart attack or stroke) than those who got the placebo. And weight, blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, and blood sugar levels fell more in the semaglutide takers.
What to do
Got excess weight and cardiovascular risk? Ask your doctor about semaglutide. In earlier studies, it also cut those risks in people with type 2 diabetes.
