A pivotal new study suggests that the weight loss drug Wegovy cut the risk of heart attack, stroke or death from cardiovascular issues by 20 percent among overweight or obese people with heart disease — a striking benefit that could change the standard of care for these patients.
“We’ve just identified a new best practice,” said Dr. Clyde Yancy, chief of the division of cardiology at Northwestern Medicine, who was not involved with the study.
Drug companies see potential for the medicines that extends far beyond obesity.
Outside of statins, she said, no medication has so dramatically reduced cardiovascular risk among people with heart disease.
“The uptake of this drug is going to be skyrocketing in the next couple of years,” she said.
Persons:
“ We’ve, ”, Clyde Yancy, Yuan Lu
Organizations:
Northwestern Medicine, American Heart Association, Yale School of Medicine
Locations:
Philadelphia, statins