Physicians are now able to improve multiple “downstream” conditions, such as heart disease, by prescribing one medication “upstream,” according to a Jan. 10 news release from Los Angeles-based Cedars Sinai.
Amanda Velazquez, MD, director of obesity medicine at the health system, said in the release that semaglutide has enabled patients with high blood pressure to reduce their antihypertensive medications.
Martha Gulati, MD, director of preventive cardiology and the Anita Dann Friedman Chair in Women’s Cardiovascular Medicine and Research at Cedars-Sinai, said although semaglutide has been associated with blood pressure and cholesterol level improvements, it does not replace statins.
Dr. Gulati also said the effectiveness of the drug class raises the important question: “Do we want patients to get CVD and only then treat them? Or should we treat them earlier so we can prevent CVD events?”
Access and availability of GLP-1 medications are not keeping up with the number of patients who could see benefits from the drugs. Insurance coverage eligibility, “leaves out a huge population of patients who are trying to be proactive about CVD prevention,” Valentina Obreja, DNP, a prevention clinic nurse practitioner at the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center in the Cedars-Sinai Smidt Heart Institute, said in the release.
The health system has taken an integrative approach to addressing cardiovascular health across specialties, combining medication, lifestyle modifications and surgery to maximize the cardiovascular benefit, the release said.
“The more we pool our efforts and resources as healthcare providers, the better off these patients become,” Dr. Gulati said.
Read the full news release here.
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