Semaglutide Cuts Symptoms and Weight in Obesity-Related HFpEF

STEP-HFpEF establishes the first pharmacologic therapy shown to improve symptoms, physical function, and weight in the obesity phenotype of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, an area with no approved drug treatments.

📅 Journal publication: Sep 21, 2023 (online Aug 25, 2023) · Last updated: Jul 20, 2026

semaglutideGLP-1 receptor agonistheart failure with preserved ejection fractionHFpEFobesityKCCQweight lossrandomized controlled trialSTEP-HFpEF Endocrinology / Diabetes / Obesity

Background Information

Semaglutide enhances function and weight loss in obese heart failure patients.

Obesity-related heart failure with preserved ejection fraction lacks approved treatments. Semaglutide may offer symptom and weight benefits. Semaglutide improved Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire score by 7.8 points and reduced body weight by 10.7 percentage points more than placebo. Semaglutide showed significant improvement in symptom management for obese heart failure patients, with fewer adverse events than placebo, but further long-term data are needed. Semaglutide improves symptoms and weight in obesity-related heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

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Authors: Kosiborod MN, Abildstrøm SZ, Borlaug BA, Butler J, Rasmussen S, Davies M, Hovingh GK, Kitzman DW, Lindegaard ML, Møller DV, Shah SJ, Treppendahl MB, Verma S, Abhayaratna W, Ahmed FZ, Chopra V, Ezekowitz J, Fu M, Ito H, Lelonek M, Melenovsky V, Merkely B, Núñez J, Perna E, Schou M, Senni M, Sharma K, Van der Meer P, von Lewinski D, Wolf D, Petrie MC, STEP-HFpEF Trial Committees and Investigators

Citation: Kosiborod MN, Abildstrøm SZ, Borlaug BA, et al. Semaglutide in Patients with Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction and Obesity. The New England journal of medicine. 2023;389(12):1069-1084. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2306963

Article Links: PubMed · Journal / DOI

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