GLP-1 Drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy May Help Lower Blood Pressure

A recent study found that GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may significantly reduce blood pressure. The positive results were observed alongside weight loss and independently of it. The findings add to growing evidence to support the meaningful health benefits of GLP-1 drugs beyond weight loss.

Obesity and high blood pressure are closely related chronic health conditions that are of growing concern globally. The two conditions have an interlinking web of causation, where obesity can play a significant role in the development and exacerbation of high blood pressure (hypertension). A new meta-analysis shows that GLP-1 medications, such as Ozempic , Wegovy , and Mounjaro , can help significantly reduce blood pressure. The findings indicate that the reduction in blood pressure was both weight-dependent and independent of weight loss. The study, recently presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul, Turkey, from May 12–15, has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal. “Given that obesity and hypertension frequently coexist and together substantially increase cardiovascular and kidney risk, these findings support obesity treatment as an important component of blood pressure management and cardiovascular risk reduction,” said lead researcher Marcel Muskiet , MD, PhD, an internist, endocrinologist, and vascular medicine specialist in the Department of Medicine at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) in the Netherlands. “Our analyses suggest that the blood pressure benefits of GLP-1 -based therapies are not exclusively driven by weight loss. While weight reduction appears to be the dominant mechanism, these agents may also exert direct renal, vascular, and neurohormonal effects that contribute independently to blood pressure lowering,” Muskiet told Healthline. The researchers conducted a meta-analysis of phase 3 clinical trials. They were examining the relationship between weight loss and reduced blood pressure with GLP-1s and multi-hormone receptor modulators (MHRMs). This analysis included 32 phase 3 trials that included 43,618 adults with overweight or obesity . The average age was 54, and the average body mass index (BMI) was 35.5.

Key points

• Obesity and high blood pressure are closely related chronic health conditions that are of growing concern globally.
• The two conditions have an interlinking web of causation, where obesity can play a significant role in the development and exacerbation of high blood pressure (hypertension).
• A new meta-analysis shows that GLP-1 medications, such as Ozempic , Wegovy , and Mounjaro , can help significantly reduce blood pressure.
• The findings indicate that the reduction in blood pressure was both weight-dependent and independent of weight loss.
• The study, recently presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul, Turkey, from May 12–15, has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.