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October 23, 2025
A study reveals that weight-loss jabs reduce heart attacks.
Weight-loss jabs reduce the risk of heart attack even if people do not lose any weight or were not obese to start with, according to a study.
Taking semaglutide, which is sold under the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy, was found to reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems such as a stroke or heart attack by 20 per cent.
The study looked at 17,604 people, half of whom were put on a placebo and half of whom were given semaglutide. Over a two-year trial, heart attacks and strokes were 20 per cent lower in the group given semaglutide.
The protective effect on the heart was the same regardless of their weight at the start of the trial. Those with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 27, making them slightly overweight but not obese, had a similar risk reduction to that of those with a BMI over 40, who were severely obese.
Professor John Deanfield of the UCL Institute of Cardiovascular Science, the lead author of the study, said: “These findings reframe what we think this medication is doing. It is labelled as a weight-loss jab but its benefits for the heart are not directly related to the amount of weight lost. In fact it is a drug that directly affects heart disease and other diseases of ageing.”
Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, clinical director at the British Heart Foundation and a consultant cardiologist, said: “These intriguing results demonstrate that the benefits of medications like semaglutide on heart health go beyond weight loss alone. But this leaves much unexplained — more research will be needed to unravel the other mechanisms of action behind the cardiovascular benefits beyond weight and fat loss, such as improvements in blood vessel health, control of blood pressure and blood sugar, or inflammation.”
Another study involving 26,000 adults taking drugs such as semaglutide, linked the medication to significant improvements in mood and wellbeing, including in adults with severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.
If you are considering taking weight loss drugs, we recommend that you should read Potential Side Effects of Weight Loss Drugs
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