Weight Loss Drugs like Ozempic May Cause Both Waistlines and Heart Reduce in Size

An investigation from the University of Alberta found that weight loss medications like Ozempic may cause both waistlines and heart muscle to reduce in size.

The well-known medication reduced cardiac muscle mass in both lab-grown human heart cells and thin and obese mice, according to the study, which was published in JACC: Basic to Translational Science.

Loss of muscle can result from semaglutide

There are almost always adverse effects from medications. Ozempic, a brand name for semaglutide, is a weight-reduction medication that effectively aids in weight loss. However, this comes with negative consequences like gastrointestinal issues and nausea.

The loss of skeletal muscle is one of the additional negative effects that semaglutide may cause, according to research. According to a November Lancet study, muscle loss accounts for up to 40% of drug-induced weight loss.

Compared to the muscle loss from calorie restriction diet or sarcopenia (muscle loss from aging), this rate of muscle loss is significantly higher, indicating possible future health problems like weakened immune system, a higher risk of infection, and poor wound healing.

Researchers studying muscle loss in experimental mouse models found that semaglutide caused heart muscle to shrink in animals as well, but this did not impair heart function.

Variations in heart mass but not heart function

Male mice were fed a high-fat, high-sucrose diet for a few weeks before being switched to a “normal” mouse diet, which allowed the researchers to replicate how someone could cut calories. This allowed them to use a mouse model of obesity.

After that, they gave mice either a control or semaglutide. After three weeks, the mice who received the medication lost about 30% of their body weight and about 65% of their fat mass.

The mice given semaglutide experienced a notable reduction in both the total weight of their hearts and the mass of their left ventricles, which are the heart’s primary pumping chambers that supply oxygen-rich blood to the body. Their cardiac cells’ total surface area was likewise diminished.

There was no effect on the heart’s capacity to pump blood, relax, or fill with blood in between beats, indicating that this brief treatment time had no effect on heart function.

In lean mice, semaglutide likewise had detrimental effects on skeletal muscle; after the same 3-week treatment period, they lost 8.2% of their skeletal muscle mass without appreciably changing their body weight.

Additionally, they observed the same alterations as the obese mice, including decreased left ventricular mass and total heart weight, but no alteration in pumping capacity.

Similar to the mouse study, experiments conducted on lab-grown human heart cells revealed that the surface area of the cells shrank following a 24-hour semaglutide therapy. However, further studies are needed to determine whether the medication also reduces heart mass in people.

Reference : Semaglutide Reduces Cardiomyocyte Size and Cardiac Mass in Lean and Obese Mice