The weight-loss jab Wegovy has been hailed as an “absolute game-changer” after a new study showed that it relieved symptoms and improved the quality of life in people with a common form of heart failure.
The participants in the trial had “heart failure with preserved ejection fraction”, a very common condition in which the heart stiffens, leading to breathlessness, fatigue and fluid retention. It is very hard to treat and doctors mainly focus on alleviating the patient’s symptoms.
Many people with heart failure are obese, so the thought that a weight-loss jab might offer a new treatment for people with this condition is appealing. When a clinical trial of semaglutide (brand name Wegovy) for treating heart failure with preserved ejection fraction was presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress this month, it was met with overwhelming enthusiasm.
