Experts say Novo Nordisk's Wegovy, a weight loss drug, may also prevent cardiovascular incidents like heart attacks and strokes, CNBC reported Aug. 16.
A study conducted by the University of California, Irvine — and partially funded by Novo Nordisk — found that the drug could aid in preventing up to 1.5 million heart attacks over the next decade. These results reflect those from a similar study released Aug. 8, which found that the drug showed a 20 percent reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events.
Wegovy's effective weight loss properties for patients experiencing obesity — a condition which also affects the heart — "is one of the biggest advances in the obesity and cardiovascular medicine world," Nathan Wong, PhD, lead study author and director of the Heart Disease Prevention Program in UC Irvine’s division of cardiology told CNBC. "We now have a weight control therapy that also significantly reduces cardiovascular events beyond the diabetes population where it was originally studied."