Weight-loss drugs cut heart failure hospital risk, study finds

The weight-loss and type 2 diabetes drugs semaglutide and tirzepatide – sold under the brand names Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro – could sharply reduce the risk of hospitalisation for patients with a common form of heart failure, new research suggests.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress in Madrid, analysed US healthcare data from 2018 to 2024, The Standart writes. 

It compared outcomes for more than 69,000 patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) who were prescribed semaglutide or tirzepatide against those taking sitagliptin, a standard diabetes treatment.

Researchers found semaglutide cut the risk of hospitalisation or death from any cause by 42%, while tirzepatide lowered it by 58%, compared with sitagliptin. A direct comparison of the two newer drugs showed no significant difference between them.

Experts said the findings reinforce evidence from smaller clinical trials and support the use of semaglutide and tirzepatide in patients with cardiometabolic HFpEF, a condition that affects about half of the one million people living with heart failure in the UK.

They said tirzepatide “showed no meaningful benefit” over semaglutide.

The findings are being presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress in Madrid.

By Sabina Mammadli