Ozempic: is semaglutide also the miracle drug for your heart?

Semaglutide is best known as the active ingredient in Ozempic, the much-discussed 'slimming drug' that is actually intended for people with diabetes. But semaglutide has been the subject of much research in recent times. In addition to helping control blood sugar levels and lose weight, semaglutide is also said to be good for your heart and blood vessels.

Also read: Is diabetes drug Ozempic a miracle cure for fast weight loss?

Semaglutide for weight loss

Semaglutide made waves in the medical world when manufacturer Novo Nordisk used it as an ingredient in Ozempic, a drug to treat type 2 diabetes. Patients lost a significant amount of weight with it, which made the drug attractive to non-diabetics as well. As a result, semaglutide was developed under yet another brand name, Wegovy, which is specifically intended for weight loss. Semaglutide is also found in Rybelsus, a diabetes drug that you take in tablet form.

Also read: Wegovy: even better than Ozempic for losing weight?

Also read: Rybelsus: a pill for weight loss?

Semaglutide for heart disease

In 2023, a clinical trial (SELECT trial) showed that semaglutide can significantly reduce the risk of serious heart events. The study was conducted in overweight people with cardiovascular disease who do not have diabetes.

“This study is a major breakthrough,” said Harlan Krumholz, a cardiologist at Yale Medicine. “Semaglutide was already known to reduce the risk of heart disease in people with diabetes, but the SELECT study was the first to show that Wegovy, which contains a higher dose of semaglutide than Ozempic, also reduces that risk in people who do not have diabetes.” The risk of heart disease is thought to be reduced by semaglutide improving glucose levels, lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, and reducing inflammation.

An additional study shows that treatment with semaglutide provides cardiovascular benefits regardless of patients' starting weight and the amount of weight lost. This suggests that even those who lose only a small amount of weight achieve better cardiovascular outcomes with semaglutide.

Semaglutide for high cholesterol

One of the elements that determines your risk of cardiovascular disease is your cholesterol level. High cholesterol levels – high LDL cholesterol, high triglycerides and low HDL cholesterol – increase the risk of heart disease. Patients with diabetes often show these poor values.

Scientific research has shown that semaglutide can improve patients' lipid profiles by lowering LDL cholesterol and increasing HDL cholesterol.

And there is also an indirect effect: with semaglutide you lose weight and we know that weight loss is often associated with, again, higher HDL cholesterol levels, lower LDL cholesterol and more favorable lipid levels.

Also read: How to lower cholesterol?

Criticisms and limitations of the studies

However, there are also critical voices. “Although the findings are very positive, we need to be cautious in interpreting them,” says Dr Garron Dodd, head of the laboratory and associate professor at the University of Melbourne. “The observed effects, although statistically significant, are relatively modest, so we should not overinterpret them.” Dr Dodd considers it possible that the observed cardiovascular benefits are solely a result of weight loss.

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