AHA: GLP-1 RA, SGLT-2i Use Can Lower Risk for MI, Recurrent Stroke in Stroke Survivors

TUESDAY, Nov. 12, 2024 (HealthDay News) — For patients with ischemic stroke, sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT-2is) and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) are associated with reduced mortality, myocardial infarction (MI), and recurrent stroke, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2024, held from Nov. 16 to 18 in Chicago.

Mohammad Ali Sheffeh, M.D., from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and colleagues examined the efficacy of GLP-1 RA or SGLT-2i initiation for reducing mortality or cardiovascular events among adults with ischemic stroke. Data were included for 7,044 individuals (mean age, 72 ± 14 years).

The researchers found that 6 percent of the participants had a second stroke, 6 percent had an incident MI, and 53 percent died during a median follow-up of three years. In the univariate analysis, those on an SGLT-2i/GLP-1 RA had a reduced risk for mortality, incident MI, and composite. After multivariable adjustment, these associations remained significant and were not affected by minimum time of exposure. In the multivariate analysis, SGLT-2i/GLP-1 RA use was also associated with recurrent ischemic stroke. In most sub-analyses of individual medications, all associations remained significant, except for the association between GLP-1 RA and recurrent stroke.

“The results of the study are consistent with other research about the preventive role of these medications against cardiovascular disease in people with obesity or heart failure,” Sheffeh said in a statement.

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