Real-World Study Confirms Semaglutide Helps Heart Failure Patients With Obesity and Diabetes
Once-weekly semaglutide 1.0 mg improved health status and reduced body weight in real-world patients with HFpEF, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Once-weekly semaglutide 1.0 mg improved health status and reduced body weight in real-world patients with HFpEF, obesity, and type 2 diabetes versus controls.
Key Numbers
203 matched patients per group. Primary outcome (>= 5-point KCCQ improvement): 60.6% semaglutide vs 17.7% control (OR 3.99). Semaglutide 1 mg weekly. 24-month follow-up.
How They Did This
Prospective, real-world comparative study of patients with HFpEF, obesity, and T2D treated with semaglutide 1.0 mg weekly versus controls not on GLP-1 RAs.
Why This Research Matters
Real-world evidence confirms that the benefits seen in controlled clinical trials also apply to typical patients seen in everyday medical practice.
The Bigger Picture
This adds to the growing case for using GLP-1 drugs to treat the metabolic-cardiac overlap that is increasingly common in aging, obese populations.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Non-randomized design — patients choosing semaglutide may differ from controls in unmeasured ways. Single semaglutide dose studied (1.0 mg, not the higher 2.4 mg obesity dose).
Questions This Raises
- ?Would higher semaglutide doses (2.4 mg) provide even greater HFpEF benefits?
- ?How do these real-world results compare to the STEP-HFpEF trial outcomes?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Real-world confirmation Prospective study validates that semaglutide benefits for HFpEF seen in clinical trials translate to everyday patients
- Evidence Grade:
- Prospective observational study — stronger than retrospective data but weaker than randomized trials. Provides important real-world validation.
- Study Age:
- Published in 2025, providing real-world evidence complementing recent clinical trial results.
- Original Title:
- Efficacy of once-weekly semaglutide in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, obesity and type 2 diabetes.
- Published In:
- Medicina clinica, 165(3), 107019 (2025)
- Authors:
- Pérez-Velasco, Miguel A(2), Bernal-López, Maria-Rosa(2), Trenas, Alicia(2), Ricci, Michele, López-Carmona, María-Dolores, García de Lucas, María-Dolores, Gómez-Huelgas, Ricardo, Pérez-Belmonte, Luis M
- Database ID:
- RPEP-13129
Evidence Hierarchy
Watches what happens naturally without intervening.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Does semaglutide help with heart failure in real patients?
Yes, this real-world study confirms that semaglutide improves health status and reduces weight in everyday patients with heart failure, obesity, and diabetes — not just in carefully selected clinical trial participants.
Is the 1.0 mg dose used for heart failure the same as for weight loss?
No. The 1.0 mg dose is the standard diabetes dose (Ozempic). The higher 2.4 mg dose (Wegovy) is used for weight loss. This study used the lower dose and still showed cardiac and weight benefits.
Read More on RethinkPeptides
Cite This Study
https://rethinkpeptides.com/research/RPEP-13129APA
Pérez-Velasco, Miguel A; Bernal-López, Maria-Rosa; Trenas, Alicia; Ricci, Michele; López-Carmona, María-Dolores; García de Lucas, María-Dolores; Gómez-Huelgas, Ricardo; Pérez-Belmonte, Luis M. (2025). Efficacy of once-weekly semaglutide in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, obesity and type 2 diabetes.. Medicina clinica, 165(3), 107019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medcli.2025.107019
MLA
Pérez-Velasco, Miguel A, et al. "Efficacy of once-weekly semaglutide in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, obesity and type 2 diabetes.." Medicina clinica, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medcli.2025.107019
RethinkPeptides
RethinkPeptides Research Database. "Efficacy of once-weekly semaglutide in patients with heart f..." RPEP-13129. Retrieved from https://rethinkpeptides.com/research/perez-velasco-2025-efficacy-of-onceweekly-semaglutide
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkPeptides research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.