Vet shots like Ozempic are truly life-saving, cutting the risk of death by a third, according to striking new data
Research shows that semaglutide, the ingredient in shots such as Ozempic and its fat-burning cousin Wegovy, can reduce the risk of heart failure and cardiovascular death by almost a third.
Australian and international researchers analysed the health data of patients with diabetes who received the jab during one of the previous clinical trials.
They found that those taking semaglutide in the experiment were up to 27 percent less likely to develop heart failure and 29 percent less likely to die.
The According to the authors, this suggests that the drug may have a positive effect on people with heart failure due to obesity.
Researchers found that people who took semaglutide during the experiment had up to a 27 percent lower risk of heart failure and up to a 29 percent lower risk of death.
The results are the latest to show that semaglutide may have benefits for heart health.
This comes after the UK medicines regulator earlier this year approved the use of semaglutide to prevent heart attacks and strokes in overweight patients.
The decision comes after scientists welcomed the results of a study earlier this year, which showed that patients taking these drugs reduce their risk of these health problems by as much as a fifth. There were also calls for the drugs to be used more widely.
The British regulator Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) indicated at the time that the weekly injections should now also be offered to obese and overweight adults with cardiovascular disease as a ‘preventive treatment’.
It could open the door to millions of Britons being able to get the fat-burning jab.
The expansion of the conditions for which semaglutide can be prescribed in the UK only applies to Wegovy, the formulation of the drug for patients wanting to lose weight, rather than Ozempic, which remains specifically for diabetes.
Cardiovascular disease is the cause of around a quarter of all deaths in the UK, which equates to 170,000 deaths a year or 480 deaths a day.
According to the MHRA, the following conditions apply: a BMI of 27 or higher, a value that indicates that someone is overweight and a diagnosed cardiovascular disease.
Currently, people in the UK can only get Wegovy through the NHS if they have a BMI of at least 30 and a health condition related to their weight, such as high blood pressure.
The MHRA’s decision does not mean that the NHS will immediately prescribe Wegovy on this new basis.
A separate body, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), must assess whether Wegovy is a cost-effective use of taxpayers’ money.
NICE told MailOnline it expects to publish the results of the appraisal next summer.
