A groundbreaking study presented at the Heart Failure 2024 meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, has revealed that the weight loss drug Wegovy (semaglutide) may hold the key to reducing the need for loop diuretics in patients with heart failure.
Dr. Kavita Sharma, the lead author of the study and an associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, shared that after a year of taking Wegovy, patients showed a significant reduction in average loop diuretic dose. This reduction was accompanied by a lower likelihood of diuretic treatment escalation and a greater likelihood of diuretic treatment de-escalation compared to those on a placebo.
The study focused on patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFePF), a common form of the disease where the heart pumps normally but is too stiff to fill properly. The international trial included 1,145 obese patients with an average age of 70, half of whom were men and half were women.
Participants received either a placebo injection or a Wegovy shot once a week for 52 weeks. Those on Wegovy experienced significant weight loss and improvements in heart failure measurements, such as performance on a six-minute walking test.
Most notably, patients on Wegovy saw a 17% average decline in the need for loop diuretics, while those on the placebo experienced a 2.4% increase in diuretic use. The study also found fewer serious adverse events with Wegovy compared to the placebo.
These findings suggest that Wegovy may have disease-modifying effects that lead to better long-term clinical outcomes for patients with heart failure. However, as the study was presented at a medical meeting, it should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.