Dr Erin Michos of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine discusses key studies in obesity and nutrition from the European Society of Cardiology 2023 Congress.
She begins with the late-breaking STEP-HFpEF trial, which examined semaglutide in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Change in body weight was a co-primary outcome in this study, and semaglutide patients had an 11% weight reduction compared with placebo. Dr Michos says these results encourage obesity intervention in patients with heart failure.
She next turns to a Danish registry study that surveyed over 34,000 patients with prior myocardial infarction (MI) and found that 1 in 3 met the eligibility criteria for the SELECT study, which examines semaglutide for cardiovascular risk reduction in patients without diabetes. SELECT-eligible patients with obesity had an MI 4 years earlier than normal-weight patients, suggesting use of glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists could avert cardiovascular disease (CVD) events.
The next study investigated the genetic causal association of central adiposity and heart failure independent of body mass index. The results supported prevention and treatment of obesity as strategies to reduce heart failure.
Dr Michos highlights two studies in nutrition, one examining the effect of ultra-processed foods on hypertension and another on the effect of consuming fruits and vegetables on CVD. Both studies reinforce the benefits of a healthy diet in patients with heart disease.
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Cite this: Obesity and Nutrition Highlights From ESC 2023 - Medscape - Sep 18, 2023.
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