Mounjaro and Zepbound Cut Risks of Heart Failure, Early Data Shows …C0NTINUE READING HERE >>>
Key Takeaways
Tirzepatide, the drug that’s sold as Mounjaro and Zepbound, can reduce the risk of outcomes like death and hospitalization in people with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and obesity by 38%.Drugmaker Eli Lilly shared the top-line results from a phase 3 clinical trial in a press release.The company said participants taking tirzepatide had fewer physical limitations and improved heart failure symptoms.
Eli Lilly’s drug tirzepatide, sold as Zepbound for weight loss and Mounjaro for diabetes, improved the symptoms of heart failure and decreased the risk of death in people with obesity, according to top-line data shared by the company last week.
People who took tirzepatide were 38% less likely to die, be hospitalized, or need to increase their heart failure medication because of heart complications, compared to those taking a placebo.
The study also showed that the drug improved the daily symptoms of living with heart failure and obesity, according to Jeff Emmick, MD, PhD, senior vice president of product development at Lilly.
Nearly 6.7 million U.S. adults have heart failure. In 2022, the condition was responsible for about 14% of deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The results add to the growing evidence that tirzepatide and other GLP-1 medications can have positive health outcomes beyond managing obesity and diabetes.
Lilly shared the topline results in a press release. The full results from the trial have not yet been published in a journal. The company said it will present the full results during an upcoming medical conference.
“Over the past 10 years, we’ve realized this is a rapidly growing problem that had very few, if any, therapeutic options, and so it really opens up an entire group of patients to hope and potential for feeling better and living longer,” Sadiya Khan, MD, MSc, professor of cardiovascular epidemiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told Verywell.
A New Tool to Treat Heart Failure
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), also called diastolic heart failure, occurs when the heart’s left pumping chamber stiffens and cannot fill properly.
The condition is responsible for half of all heart failure cases. According to Lilly, almost 60% of those who live with HFpEF in the U.S. also have obesity. According to the American Heart Association, having obesity and diabetes are major risk factors for developing heart failure.
In the clinical trial, participants taking tirzepatide were 38% less likely to experience a heart failure outcome. According to a spokesperson for Lilly, the heart failure outcomes were measured in a composite score which factored in how frequently people taking the medication experienced an urgent heart failure medical visit, hospitalization for heart failure, an increase in their medication for heart failure, or cardiovascular death.
Some other existing medications, like spironolactone, can decrease hospitalizations for people with HFpEF.
However, medications that improve survival rates have been “elusive,” Khan said. “The fact that this may improve survival, in addition to symptoms, is really exciting.”
Lilly also measured how participants’ heart failure symptoms improved using the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ). People with HFpEF often experience symptoms like fatigue, shortness of breath, difficulty exercising, and swelling in the arms and legs. The KCCQ asks questions about those symptoms as well as physical limitations, like difficulty running or showering.
People taking tirzepatide who completed the study saw, on average, a 9.8-point improvement in their KCCQ score compared to those taking a placebo. When people who discontinued the treatment are factored in, the average improvement was 6.8 points.
“Living longer without feeling better is an insufficient outcome,” Khan said. “Being able to say that the symptoms or the how well people feel is just as important.”
Expanding the Uses of GLP-1 Drugs
The new data adds to mounting evidence that the GLP-1 drugs can promote health apart from their direct results on obesity and diabetes.
“It turns out that cardiometabolic renal disease is really all the same thing,” Andrew Freeman, MD, FACC, director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health, told Verywell. “That includes obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and heart failure—all these things are all interconnected.”
People in the treatment group who finished the study lost an average of 15.7% of their body weight, compared to 2.2% in the placebo group.
It’s not entirely clear if GLP-1 drugs are so effective at managing cardiometabolic conditions simply because they lead to weight loss, or if other mechanisms, like tamping down inflammation and altering brain signaling, are playing major roles.
“If somebody is losing weight, is less breathless, less swollen, and their diabetes and blood pressure are starting to get into check, they’re going to feel better,” Freeman said.
In April, Lilly shared data showing that tirzepatide reduced sleep apnea in people with diabetes. Novo Nordisk published a study indicating that Wegovy and Ozempic can reduce the risk of kidney disease complications.
Independent research indicates that GLP-1 drugs can reduce the risk of most obesity-associated cancers.
Freeman says he already prescribes GLP-1 medications for his patients with cardiometabolic risk. In March, the FDA approved an indication for semaglutide, the drug in Ozempic and Wegovy, to prevent cardiovascular events in people with overweight and obesity.
Many insurance providers will now cover semaglutide for that use. Freeman says he is also sometimes able to get coverage for tirzepatide for his patients with heart failure. Getting insurance coverage could help improve access to the medications, which are prohibitively expensive for many people.
“Of course, people need to exercise and change their lifestyle, because if they don’t, they may be committed to such a drug for the rest of their life, which could be quite expensive for many,” Freedman said.
“A lot of people would rather just take a pill or an injection than change their lifestyle. In this case, if people can do both, it’ll be really exciting to see the outcomes,” he added.
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