According to the American College of Heart, millions of Americans should take weight loss medications to prevent heart disease.
The highest cardiology organization in the country is New suggestions Release on Friday. The organization said weight loss medication should be used earlier to make it part of the first line of defense for obese patients.
Novo Nordisk A/sWegovy and Eli Lilly & Co.According to the new guidelines, major treatments for avoiding heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States should be considered. The nonprofit medical association says popular drugs are more effective than lifestyle changes and have fewer risks than surgery.
“We’ve heard of the myriad positive effects that drugs have and getting this prop from the ACC is a big win,” Jared Holz of Mizuho Securities wrote in his notes to clients.
Novo listed stocks briefly soared Friday after the new guide, down 1.1% as of 11:22 a.m. in New York. Lilly fell to 2.8% earlier.
The ACC’s recommendation runs contrary to previous recommendations that advocate for lifestyle changes before obesity medications. Patients do not have to “fail” before they get a powerful drug that completely changes weight loss and demonstrates their ability to improve heart health. Olivia Gilberta cardiologist Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center is responsible for the new guidelines.
She bluntly said the change was designed to impact insurance companies and federal programs to decide which prescription drugs to be covered. Support from cardiologists could lead to more patients receiving medication and provide broader insurance to Novo and Lilly’s drugs, two major companies vying for control in the control market Morgan Stanley Analyst Say it’s heading $150 billion in sales over the past decade.
Gilbert said the new guidelines may have revolutionized public health and policy implications, thus reducing the damage to heart disease, “It’s very exciting.”
Even so, Gilbert said, people should “absolutely not” cancel the gym membership. The drugs will help lose weight, she said, “if there is anything to increase physical exercise.” “They’re designed to work at the same time.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 40% of adults in the United States are obese. The ACC said uncertainty about insurance coverage is a major barrier to treatment, noting that “there is a continuous increase in opportunities for these therapies.”
Under the new guidelines, doctors can determine who is eligible to prevent cardiac complications based on the weight index, which involves weight and height or other risk factors.
Gilbert said the link between obesity and heart health is nothing new, but patients need to lose 10% of their weight to reduce cardiovascular risk, while deaths related to logging-related deaths are associated with deaths. She said drug therapy is probably the best and easiest way to get there.
Many insurers do not cover these drugs, and the monthly uninsured cost is about $1,000, but can also offer consumers who buy directly in cash at a lower price. Gilbert said the new ACC guidance could impact negotiations with private insurers as well as Medicare and Medicaid, U.S. government insurance plans. Although most Medicare and Medicaid pay for weight loss pills for people with diabetes, obesity is not currently covered.
Last March, the Food and Drug Administration approved Novo’s Wegovy to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death, heart attacks and strokes in patients with overweight and heart disease, making it the first of the weight loss drugs approved to prevent potentially fatal heart problems. Although the agency has not cleared Lilly’s Zepbough for cardiovascular disease, a later study last year did reduce heart failure deaths.
Lilly welcomed the change, saying it reinforced the importance of effective treatment of obesity in the early stages. Novo appreciates the ACC’s move to reflect “the current therapeutic landscape.”
