It seems like every week we’re discovering a new GLP-1 cardiac benefit, with the TRANSFORM-AF study now suggesting the drug could help reduce AFib burden.
- Up to six million people in the U.S. have AFib, making it one of the more common cardiovascular conditions.
- Despite significant ablation advancements, AFib’s recurrence risk is ~30% at one year and rises over time, likely due to cardiometabolic factors like obesity.
- Over 50% of patients undergoing AF ablation in the U.S. are obese, which limits how effective ablation can be in the long run.
Examining the effects of GLP-1s on AFib, researchers examined 2.5k patients from 170 Veterans Affairs sites across the U.S. and found that AFib patients with obesity who were treated with a diabetes-managing dose of GLP-1s experienced fewer AFib-related events.
- GLP-1 use led to a 13% reduction in AFib hospitalizations, cardioversions, and ablation procedures, during a median follow-up of three years.
- The benefits of the GLP-1 were even greater for patients with severe obesity (BMI >40).
Although it’s still not certain if these benefits are due to GLP-1’s direct interaction with AFib, the study suggests that the drug could be making an impact outside of the weight loss given that there was only a modest 4% weight reduction with the diabetes management dose (lower than GLP-1’s weight loss dose).
With the results of TRANSFORM-AF, AFib could join the growing list of GLP-1s’ cardiovascular benefits…
- TThe STRIDE trial showed GLP-1s improve the impact of PAD.
- The SELECT trial found that overweight or obese patients with CVD reduced their risk of MACE on GLP-1s.
- The SUMMIT trial for Eli Lilly’s GLP-1/GIP drug, tirzepatide, found it reduced mortality risks in HFpEF patients with obesity.
The Takeaway
GLP-1s continue to impress, but with each new study that touts their benefits, the questions on how this occurs get more important. Even if it is just due to the benefits of weight loss, reducing the burden of AFib and other CV conditions with a single drug is hard to dismiss.
