Study: Weight Loss Drugs Decrease Heart Attack Risk

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Facts

  • According to a study presented at the European Congress of Obesity, the medication Semaglutide, an ingredient found in the weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, reduces the risk of heart attacks, strokes, or death due to cardiovascular health by 20%.1
  • After analyzing over 17.6K obese adults from 41 countries who were at least 45 years old, 62% of those who took the drugs Ozempic, Wegovy, and Rybelsus for 20 weeks lost 5% of their body weight, compared to 10% of those who took the placebo.2
  • However, the 20% decrease in heart attacks, strokes, and heart failure for those who took the drugs was the same regardless of any weight loss, as opposed to those who took the placebo.2
  • While 8%, or 701, of those who took the placebo experienced one of the three cardiovascular events, just 6.5%, or 569, of those who took the drugs did so.3
  • A separate study of the same Semaglutide trial found that those prescribed it lost an average of 10.2% of their weight over four years, compared to 1.5% for the placebo group. After two years of taking the drug, 52% were in a new Body Mass Index (BMI) category, compared to 16% for the placebo.2
  • This comes as UK scientists are testing a new drug called Retatrutide, which has been shown to reduce body weight by 24% over a 48-week period.1

Sources: 1Guardian, 2Independent and 3WION.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by NDTV.com. Since the breakthrough discovery of statin cholesterol medications in the 1990s, scientists have been trying to find an even better heart disease preventative. Not only has semaglutide helped people lose incredible amounts of weight, but it's now shown to be the missing piece doctors and patients have sought for decades.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Medium. Obesity, which is what causes poor heart health, is a natural phenomenon with natural remedies, but pharmaceutical companies want to turn it into the next billion-dollar market. Instead of focusing on the underlying causes, such as trauma, poor diets, and lack of exercise, Big Pharma has offered a drug that you must become dependent on if you want to keep the weight off.

Predictions