Popular Weight-Loss Drug May Cut Heart Attack Risk by 54%, New Studies Find

New research on tirzepatide, the drug behind Zepbound and Mounjaro, suggests it could significantly lower the risk of major cardiovascular event.

BY LEILA SHERIDAN, NEWS WRITER

Illustration: Inc; Photo: Getty Images

Tirzepatide, the drug behind blockbuster treatments like Zepbound and Mounjaro, is best known for driving significant weight loss. But new research suggests its benefits may extend well beyond the scale, potentially lowering the risk of some of the deadliest heart complications.

In two recent studies of high-risk patients undergoing major cardiac procedures, those taking tirzepatide were significantly less likely to experience serious cardiovascular events than patients on older medications or no comparable treatment at all, according to Gizmodo.

The most striking results came from patients who had undergone angioplasty, a common procedure used to open blocked arteries. Within a month, those on tirzepatide had a 54 percent lower risk of major cardiovascular events, including heart attacks, compared to patients taking an older GLP-1 drug. A year later, those benefits not only held—but in some cases widened—with lower overall death rates among tirzepatide users, according to News Medical.

“Tirzepatide consistently reduced major cardiovascular events and mortality across multiple time points,” said Revati Varma, an internal medicine resident at Cook County Hospital in Chicago and author of the study, according to Gizmodo. “Clinicians should actively consider [this] when selecting therapies.”

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A second study focused on patients recovering from aortic valve replacement, a major heart surgery. There, tirzepatide users were nearly 30 percent less likely to experience serious cardiovascular complications after the procedure, though rates of heart attacks themselves remained similar between groups, Gizmodo reported. 

Tirzepatide is distinct from other common weight loss drugs. Unlike its counterparts, tirzepatide targets two hormones—GLP-1 and GIP—that help regulate appetite, blood sugar, and metabolism. That dual mechanism has already made it one of the most effective weight-loss treatments available, with patients losing around 20 percent of their body weight on average over the course of a year, according to Gizmodo. 

Those results align with findings from the SURMOUNT-1 trial, a large randomized clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which helped establish tirzepatide’s effectiveness in treating obesity.

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