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Millions could ‘slash heart disease risk’ on weight-loss jabs like Wegovy – in ‘biggest breakthrough since statins’
In other weight loss jab news, a drug has been called the 'Godzilla' of fat jabs - watch the video to find out more
MILLIONS of people should be put on weight loss injections to protect their hearts, a leading doctor says.
A trial found taking semaglutide reduced the chances of early death, heart attack or stroke by 20 per cent for overweight people with heart trouble.
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Professor John Deanfield, from University College London, said it could be the biggest heart breakthrough since cholesterol-busting statins in the 1990s.
Nearly eight million Brits have heart disease and Prof Deanfield said all of those who are overweight – about half, or four million people in the UK – could benefit from the jabs.
The injections improved heart health even if the patient did not lose weight, he said at the European Congress on Obesity.
The professor, who also works as an NHS cardiologist in London, said: “There will be a lot of people who will benefit from these drugs.
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“We’re focusing on weight loss but something else is going on that benefits the cardiovascular system.
“This is the sort of thing we had with statins in the 1990s.
“We finally figured out there was a class of drugs that would change the biology of this disease.”
Seven to eight million people in the UK take statins to lower cholesterol or reduce heart problems.
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Prof Deanfield said weight loss jabs could be routinely prescribed in the same way.
Scientists are still discovering their benefits and believe they could improve brain health and reduce cancer risk, on top of proven effectiveness against type 2 diabetes.
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The jabs are expensive but the NHS already spends around £18billion per year dealing with obesity and heart disease.
The study involved 17,604 people over the age of 45 who were living with heart disease or had previously had a heart attack or stroke.
They received semaglutide – the drug in Ozempic and Wegovy – for three years.
People using the injections had significantly fewer heart attacks, strokes or deaths during the 40-month trial than patients given a placebo jab.
Prof Deanfield said he would propose wider rollout of the jabs to ministers in his role as Government Champion for Personalised Prevention.
He added: “This could be a real change in the way we help with a range of chronic diseases, which currently the NHS doesn't treat very well.”
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Professor Jason Halford, president of the European Association for the Study of Obesity said: “I think in the next 10 years we’ll see a radical change in the approach to healthcare.
“Once the costs of the injections come down then the cost savings to the NHS will be significant.”
New weight loss drug dubbed 'Godzilla' of fat jabs
A NEW weight loss drug called retatrutide has been called the “Godzilla” of fat jabs.
A trial showed slimmers lost up to 29 per cent of their body weight in less than year while taking the drug.
Results suggest retatrutide is even more effective than Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, because it it revs up patients’ metabolism to burn more fat while dulling hunger pangs.
A study on 338 people found users lost 24 per cent of their weight in 48 weeks.
Women lost more – an average of 29 per cent – compared men with 21 per cent.
Trial chief Professor Ania Jastreboff, from Yale University, said: “The results are striking – this degree of weight reduction in this time frame has not been seen before.”
The injection mimics the production of three hormones linked to hunger, suppressing someone’s appetite so they eat less and lose weight.
By comparison, trial results showed semaglutide - the main ingredient in Ozempic - could lead to 15 per cent weight loss and tirzepatide, aka Mounjaro, to 23 per cent.
Read more here on the blockbuster drug here.
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