Prime Highlights:
- A UK study has found that GLP-1 weight-loss drugs such as Ozempicand Wegovy may help prevent the dangerous “no-reflow” complication after a heart attack.
- Researchers say the medicines could improve recovery by protecting the heart’s smallest blood vessels and restoring healthy blood flow.
Key Facts:
- The study was led by scientists from the University of Bristol and University College London, and funded by the British Heart Foundation.
- Findings, published in Nature Communications, are based on animal trials and will require human clinical studies before the drugs can be used in routine heart attack treatment.
Background:
Weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy could help prevent life-threatening complications after a heart attack, according to a new UK study based on animal research.
Scientists found that GLP-1 medicines may reduce the risk of a condition known as “no-reflow”, a serious complication that can occur even after doctors reopen a blocked artery. The findings suggest the drugs could improve recovery and lower the chances of heart failure or death following a heart attack. The research was funded by the British Heart Foundation and published in Nature Communications.
Each year, around 100,000 people in the UK suffer a heart attack. In almost half of these cases, the heart’s tiny blood vessels stay blocked even after doctors reopen the main artery during emergency treatment. This problem, called no-reflow, stops oxygen-rich blood from reaching parts of the heart muscle and can cause more damage.
Dr Svetlana Mastitskaya, a senior lecturer at University of Bristol, led the study. She said the results were encouraging and could eventually allow paramedics to give GLP-1 drugs to patients on their way to hospital or during procedures to reopen arteries. However, she stressed that human clinical trials are necessary before the treatment can be approved for routine use.
The study also involved researchers from University College London. Co-lead Prof David Attwell described the drugs as offering a “potentially life-saving solution” for patients who experience no-reflow.
GLP-1 drugs are already widely used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity. Large clinical trials have shown they lower the risk of heart attack and stroke, but scientists have not fully understood how they protect the heart. Experts believe the drugs may improve blood flow in the heart’s smallest vessels by mimicking the GLP-1 hormone.
While the findings mark a promising step, researchers caution that further studies in people must confirm the benefits before doctors can use the drugs in emergency heart care.
