Ozempic and Wegovy have heart health benefits beyond just weight loss

Illustration of semaglutide activating a key receptor, called GLP-1 JUAN GAERTNER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Alamy The active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, a drug called semaglutide, can have direct beneficial effects on the heart within weeks, in addition to the longer-term benefits of losing weight, an animal study has shown. The finding suggests that people with heart disease who don’t have type 2 diabetes or obesity, which semaglutide is primarily used to treat, might also benefit from taking this kind of drug. “It may be that we’re missing a large population of people that could benefit,” says Christopher Stone at Brown.

...