Study wrapper · #783
Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists for weight loss in end-stage heart failure patients considered for heart transplantation.
Editor's note
This small retrospective case series describes nine end-stage heart-failure outpatients with severe obesity who were started on semaglutide as a bridge toward heart-transplant eligibility. Researchers reported median BMI fell from 35.9 to 32.2 kg/m2 (about 5 kg median loss) over a median four months; all nine were subsequently listed and seven underwent transplantation, with no significant adverse effects reported in this series. This is nine patients, uncontrolled and retrospective, the weakest evidence tier, so it demonstrates feasibility and a plausible signal rather than establishing benefit. Selection and the pressures of transplant listing could shape outcomes. Still, it is a clinically interesting use case: weight reduction to cross a BMI listing threshold. Larger, controlled study would be needed before drawing conclusions.
Plain-language abstract
Doctors report on nine patients with very severe heart failure who were also severely obese, a weight level that usually rules people out for a heart transplant. To help them qualify, the patients were started on semaglutide. Over about four months, their weight fell enough to drop their BMI from around 36 to 32, an average loss of about 5 kg. After losing weight, all nine were added to the transplant list, and seven went on to receive a transplant. No major side effects were reported in this small group. Because this describes only nine patients with no comparison group, it shows the approach is feasible and worth studying, but it cannot prove that semaglutide was responsible or how well it works for this purpose. Larger, controlled studies would be needed.