Semaglutide and similar drugs, best known for treating diabetes and aiding weight loss, may also help people with a type of heart failure, according to a new study from researchers in Germany and the U.S.
The study, published in JAMA, looked at two popular medications: semaglutide (sold as Ozempic and Wegovy) and tirzepatide (sold as Mounjaro).
Researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Harvard Medical School analyzed health data from about 100,000 people. They focused on a type of heart failure called HFpEF—heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.
HFpEF is a condition where the heart still pumps well but struggles to fill with blood due to stiffened muscles. It affects over 30 million people around the world and has very few effective treatment options.
The study found that patients who took semaglutide or tirzepatide had over 40% fewer hospitalizations or deaths from heart failure than those who took another diabetes medication known not to impact heart failure. The findings remained strong even in groups that were not included in past clinical trials.
“This study gives us powerful real-world evidence to support using these drugs for heart failure,” said Professor Heribert Schunkert from TUM’s German Heart Center. “These findings suggest it’s time to consider updating treatment guidelines.”
Dr. Nils Krüger, lead author of the study, noted that as more people face obesity and diabetes—which worsen heart failure—the need for new treatments is urgent. “Heart failure is one of the main reasons people go to the hospital, especially in Germany,” he said. “These drugs could help reduce that burden.”
The researchers used U.S. health insurance data, which included nearly 20 times more people than traditional clinical trials. That gave them a more complete picture of how the drugs work in real life.
These kinds of large-scale studies are likely to become more common. Germany is preparing to make anonymized health insurance data available for research, which could speed up the process of bringing new treatments into patient care.
“This is about using data to improve lives,” said Dr. Krüger. “We can use these tools to better understand how treatments work outside the lab.”
The study is published in JAMA.
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