A cardiovascular doctor calls this "the first trial" to test this specific link between obesity medication and this heart condition.
This Rising Weight-Loss Drug Reduced Heart and Death Risk, New Research Finds
Published on Dec. 05, 2024
The newest class of weight loss drugs can help you slim down and manage your type 2 diabetes. Increasingly, research is now finding additional benefits to taking GLP-1 agonist medications.
According to a new international study known as the SUMMIT trial, there may be significant cardiovascular benefits to taking weight loss drugs that include tirzepatide, the active ingredient found in Mounjaro and Zepbound.
The study included 713 participants with both obesity and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). The researchers found that those taking tirzepatide-based drugs for an average of two years experienced a lower risk of worsening heart failure events and cardiovascular death, as well as better overall health compared to the placebo group.
The Mayo Clinic defines HFpEF as a condition in which the heart doesn’t pump blood as well as it should due to weakened heart muscle. The term “ejection fraction” refers to how much blood the heart pumps out with each beat. In a healthy heart, this is typically about 50-70%. However, subjects included in the study had an ejection fraction of 40% or below.
In HFpEF, the heart’s pumping ability looks normal when measured by ejection fraction, but the heart muscle itself is stiff and doesn’t relax properly after pumping. This makes it harder for the heart to fill up with blood between beats. As a result, patients can experience a range of symptoms like shortness of breath, fatigue, and swelling, especially during exercise or when lying down.
To conduct the double-blind study, the researcher randomly assigned their subjects to receive either a weekly dose of tirzepatide or placebo. They gradually increased the dose from 2.5 milligrams (mg) to up to 15 milligrams per week.
Using a maximum follow-up benchmark of three years, the team assessed the likelihood of various health outcomes. These included worsening heart failure events requiring hospitalization, urgent heart failure visits requiring intravenous drug therapy, intensification of oral diuretics, and time to cardiovascular death.
The researchers observed that heart failure events occurred in 29 patients (8.0%) in the tirzepatide group compared to 52 (14.2%) in the placebo group. This indicates a 46% reduction in risk for those taking tirzepatide.
Having high blood pressure is the most common risk factor for HFpEF, affecting up to 90% of people with the condition. Tirzepatide is known to significantly reduce hypertension, studies have shown. Participants in the tirzepatide group also had less systemic inflammation after taking the drug,
“Obesity contributes to worsening heart failure, and while tirzepatide causes considerable weight loss, research is lacking on its effects on cardiovascular outcomes,” commented lead study author Milton Packer, MD, a distinguished scholar in cardiovascular science at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas and a visiting professor at Imperial College in London, via press release. “This is the first trial that tested the effect of any medication on major heart failure outcomes in patients with HFpEF and obesity.”
For those with both obesity and heart failure, tirzepatide-based medications could offer cardiovascular protection. Speak with your doctor to learn more about whether such medication might be right for you.
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