- GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy help protect heart health, but stopping the medications may reduce the protective effects.
- Some research suggests that GLP-1s containing tirzepatide (Zepbound, Mounjaro) may help lower the risk of further complications in people with cardiovascular disease.
- Other research suggests that GLP-1s may help reduce thromboembolic events, such as deep vein thrombosis (DVT), in people with obesity and autoimmune diseases.
GLP-1 medications were originally developed for the management of type 2 diabetes.
A large body of evidence shows that GLP-1s offer health benefits beyond diabetes and weight loss.
Recent research published in BMJ Medicine suggests that GLP-1 medications may support heart health, with cardiovascular benefits increasing with longer duration of use. However, stopping the medication may reduce heart-protective benefits.
The studies have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, but a news release detailed some of these findings.
“These findings are consistent with what we are seeing broadly that medications like tirzepatide are not just weight loss drugs but have meaningful cardiometabolic benefits,” said Kevin Shah, MD, a cardiologist and the program director of Heart Failure Outreach at MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute at the Long Beach Medical Center, in a previous interview with Healthline. Shah wasn’t involved in the studies.
GLP-1 medications may reduce the risk of heart disease. However, once you stop taking the medication, the protection may be reversed, according to research published in BMJ Medicine in March.
The research suggests that, while continued use may increase heart benefits over time, stopping the medication may reduce or reverse those benefits.
The study followed 132,551 people taking GLP-1 medication and 201,136 people taking sulfonylurea for 3 years to treat diabetes. It noted that 26.36% of people discontinued GLP-1 treatment, most commonly during the first year.
As the study found that GLP-1 medications are more likely to provide heart health protection over time, stopping treatment earlier means they are less likely to offer these benefits.
“The main message is that GLP-1 therapy behaves more like a long-term risk-reduction treatment than a short-term fix,” said Robert Glatter, MD, attending physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, and assistant professor of Emergency Medicine at Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/ Northwell, in a previous interview. Glatter was not involved in the study.
“The study reinforces a broader lesson in chronic disease management: benefits that accumulate slowly can be lost surprisingly fast when treatment is interrupted, so persistence and follow-up truly matter,” he told Healthline.
“GLP-1 receptor agonists are increasingly recognized as having effects that extend beyond weight loss and glucose control,” said Christopher Yi, MD, board certified vascular surgeon at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA. Yi wasn’t involved in the study.
“They reduce systemic inflammation, improve metabolic health, and may improve endothelial function — all mechanisms that could plausibly reduce thromboembolic risk,” Yi told Healthline.
“What I found especially noteworthy is that the reduction appeared stronger for venous thromboembolic events than for some arterial cardiovascular outcomes such as myocardial infarction. The authors suggest that venous thrombosis may be more directly influenced by inflammation and obesity-related hypercoagulability, which could make it more responsive to GLP-1 therapy,” Yi continued.
The research article noted the following findings:
- 44% lower all-cause mortality
- 31% lower risk of pulmonary embolism
- 17% lower risk of venous thromboembolism
- 21% lower emergency department visits
Earlier studies have shown similar results in people with diabetes and chronic kidney disease (CKD). The authors of this study said this may be attributed to improved cardiometabolic parameters, which lead to fewer sudden health problems and subsequent emergency room visits.
Cardiometabolic parameters are measurements of the health of the heart, blood vessels, and metabolic system.
“The most striking result in the paper may actually be the 44% reduction in all-cause mortality,” Yi said.
“While observational findings of that magnitude should always be interpreted cautiously, it raises an important hypothesis that GLP-1 therapies may be addressing several interconnected disease pathways simultaneously — obesity, inflammation, cardiometabolic dysfunction, and possibly thrombosis,” he continued.
“At the same time, I would emphasize that the findings are hypothesis-generating. They are exciting and biologically plausible, but randomized trials specifically designed to evaluate thromboembolic outcomes would be needed before GLP-1s could be formally recommended primarily for VTE or PE prevention,” Yi said.
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