Appetite-suppressing injection Wegovy will be prescribed to tens of thousands of survivors to prevent them having another heart attack or stroke
The NHS is to give weight loss jabs to tens of thousands of people who have survived a heart attack or stroke.
The regulator has approved semaglutide – brand name Wegovy – for people who have had a heart attack, stroke, or serious circulation problem in their legs and who also carry excess weight. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has widened eligibility after trials showed the jabs could reduce the risks of heart attacks and strokes.
Helen Knight, Director of Medicines Evaluation at NICE, said: “We know that people who have already had a heart attack or stroke are living with real fear that it could happen again.”
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“Today’s decision gives thousands of people in that situation an extra layer of protection, on top of the medicines they are already taking.”
Currently 1.6 million Brits are on the weekly appetite-suppressing injections, mostly accessed via private prescriptions.
Health Minister Sharon Hodgson said: “Weight loss drugs are proving to be a game changer in tackling obesity. Extending their use for people who also suffer from cardiovascular disease will be a life saver.”
The NHS is slowly rolling out access to the jabs – which mimic the hormone GLP-1 to make people feel full quicker – the most seriously obese and unwell. Up until now 3.4 million were technically eligible under NICE criteria but only around 200,000 are getting it on the NHS with the rollout being phased over a number of years.
The NHS is unable to offer them to everyone who is technically eligible because of a lack of capacity to provide the accompanying counselling support to bring about lifestyle changes. There have also been global supply shortages.
Today’s announcement means a further 1.2 million are eligible who have previously had a heart attack, stroke, or are living with peripheral arterial disease, which is a condition affecting blood flow in the legs. It is not known how many of these will immediately be able to access them.
Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, Clinical Director at the British Heart Foundation, said: “So-called ‘weight loss drugs’ like semaglutide have proven benefits beyond reducing the number on the scales – they are now considered important medicines for preventing deadly heart attacks and strokes.
“Today’s guidance will no doubt help save lives as cardiovascular disease is still one of the country’s biggest killers. That’s why it’s so important that when we get new and effective medicines which prevent cardiovascular disease complications, like semaglutide, that they get to everyone who could benefit as soon as possible.”
The new NICE guidance states that the treatment can be used by patients with a body mass index (BMI) score of 27 or over in addition to other medicines, such as statins, and alongside a reduced calorie diet and increased exercise to prevent heart attacks and strokes.
Prof Riyaz Patel, consultant Cardiologist at Barts Health NHS Trust, said: “This is a very important development. Estimates suggest there are about four million people in the UK living with coronary disease, strokes and arterial disease who remain at very high risk of subsequent or further heart attacks and strokes, and related deaths despite our best available treatments. This risk comes with significant personal cost but also financial impacts on the NHS.”
Trials have shown the weekly jabs cut the risk of a heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular death even before patients lost a significant amount of weight, which suggests the drug works on the heart and blood vessels. There was a 20% reduced risk of a major heart event among the 17,604 people who took part in the study.
Henry Gregg, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association said: “Although more details are needed, this is a very significant announcement and could be game changing in reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes, one of the leading causes of death in the UK.”
