Diabetes drugs like semaglutide and liraglutide cut heart attacks, strokes, and kidney failure by up to a third — and they work fast, even before blood sugar drops, likely by calming down harmful...

Some diabetes drugs like liraglutide, semaglutide, and dulaglutide may help protect the heart and lower the chance of serious heart problems in people with type 2 diabetes who already have heart disease — and this benefit might not just be because they lower blood sugar.

Losing just 1 kilogram (about 2.2 pounds) of body weight while taking GLP-1 diabetes drugs is linked to a 7% lower chance of having a heart attack, stroke, or dying from heart disease.

GLP-1 diabetes drugs that lower blood sugar and weight the most tend to offer the biggest protection against heart attacks and strokes in people with type 2 diabetes.

Medications called GLP-1 receptor agonists lower levels of certain inflammation markers in people with type 2 diabetes, but there is no evidence that this reduction leads to better symptoms or disease progression in rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis.

For people with type 2 diabetes, lowering their blood pressure or bad cholesterol with GLP-1 drugs doesn't seem to make a noticeable difference in their risk of heart attack or stroke.