People who stop taking GLP-1 weight-loss and diabetes drugs may lose the cardiovascular protection those medications provide within a relatively short time, according to a large study reported by ScienceDaily. The analysis looked at treatments such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound.
After patients had been off the drugs for two years, their risk of heart attack, stroke, and death was 22% higher, the study found. That suggests the heart benefits built up during treatment can disappear surprisingly quickly once the medication is stopped.
The findings do not answer every question about how long people should stay on these drugs or whether tapering off changes the risk. But they do suggest that stopping treatment is not a neutral event and that the potential loss of cardiovascular protection should be part of the conversation between patients and their doctors.