Weight-loss drugs, including Ozempic and Wegovy, may significantly reduce the risk of life-threatening complications following a heart attack, according to new research published today. The study, led by the University of Bristol and University College London (UCL), suggests these medications could prevent “no-reflow,” a dangerous condition where blood flow remains restricted in tiny heart vessels even after a blocked artery is cleared.
The findings, based on animal model trials, indicate that GLP-1 drugs—already known to lower the risk of heart attack and stroke—could offer a “promising new therapeutic approach for improving heart attack recovery,” researchers stated. Approximately half of the 100,000 people in the UK who suffer a heart attack each year experience no-reflow, increasing their risk of death or readmission to hospital for heart failure within a year.
“In nearly half of all heart attack patients, tiny blood vessels within the heart remain narrowed, even after the main artery is cleared during emergency treatment,” explained Dr. Svetlana Mastitskaya, senior lecturer at Bristol University’s medical school and the study’s lead author. “This results in a complication known as ‘no-reflow’, where blood is unable to reach certain parts of the heart tissue.” Mastitskaya added that the latest findings are “surprising” in that the drugs may prevent this problem.
The research focused on how GLP-1 drugs could reverse blockages caused by pericytes, cells that constrict blood vessels during a heart attack and reduce blood flow. Prof. David Attwell, co-lead of the study from UCL, described the potential impact as a “potentially life-saving solution” for those experiencing no-reflow.
While previous studies have demonstrated the benefits of Ozempic and Wegovy on heart health independent of weight loss, this study offers a possible explanation for how these effects are achieved, suggesting the drugs improve blood flow through the heart’s smallest blood vessels. Prof. Bryan Williams, chief scientific and medical officer at the British Heart Foundation, which funded the trial, stated that the research suggests “mimicking the action of the GLP‑1 hormone may have potential to improve blood flow through microvessels and perhaps one day could have a role in heart attack treatment.”
Mastitskaya indicated the drugs could potentially be administered by paramedics at the scene of a heart attack or during surgical procedures to reopen blocked arteries. However, she emphasized the need for further human clinical trials to confirm these benefits before GLP-1s can be routinely used in such scenarios. The results of the study are published in Nature Communications.
