The Study
Cardiovascular Outcomes with Tirzepatide versus Dulaglutide in Type 2 Diabetes.
This study is like a fair race between two medicines to see which one does a better job protecting hearts in people who already have heart disease. It found that tirzepatide didn't do worse than dulaglutide — that's all we know for sure. We can't say it's better, just that it's just as good.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
This study compared two diabetes drugs — one new (tirzepatide) and one already known to help the heart (dulaglutide) — in people with diabetes and heart disease.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 582 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Even though tirzepatide didn't beat dulaglutide for heart events, it saved more lives and helped people lose much more weight — which could mean long-term benefits beyond the 4-year study.
- 2Tirzepatide lowered heart attacks, strokes, and heart deaths just as well as dulaglutide (12.2% vs 13.1% had events).
- 3It also cut overall deaths by 16%, lowered blood sugar 1.66% more, and helped people lose 11.6% of body weight vs 4.8%.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
The New England journal of medicine
Year
2025
Authors
Stephen J. Nicholls, I. Pavo, Deepak L. Bhatt, J. Buse, Stefano Del Prato, S. Kahn, A. M. Lincoff, Darren K. Mcguire, Debra Miller, Michael A. Nauck, H. Nishiyama, Steven E. Nissen, N. Sattar, G. Weerakkody, R. Wiese, B. Zinman, S. Zoungas, Jan N. Basile, Melanie J. Davies, F. Giorgino, M. Kellerer, L. Ji, T. Várkonyi, V. Menon, J. Broder, Alan Herschtal, D. D’Alessio
Related Content
Claims (6)
In adults with type 2 diabetes and heart disease, a weekly injection of tirzepatide reduces the risk of heart-related death, heart attack, or stroke just as effectively as another drug called dulaglutide, even though tirzepatide leads to greater weight loss and better blood sugar control.
Among adults with type 2 diabetes and heart disease, tirzepatide was associated with a 16% lower risk of death from any cause over four years compared to dulaglutide, based on statistical analysis of patient outcomes.
Over 36 months, tirzepatide lowered body weight and blood sugar levels more than dulaglutide in adults with type 2 diabetes and heart disease, while both drugs had similar effects on cardiovascular safety.
In adults with type 2 diabetes and heart disease, the rates of severe low blood sugar and pancreatitis are about the same for tirzepatide and dulaglutide, meaning neither drug appears to cause more of these serious side effects than the other.
In patients with type 2 diabetes and heart disease, tirzepatide lowers the combined risk of serious heart and kidney events by 16% compared to dulaglutide.
In adults with type 2 diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, tirzepatide is linked to slightly higher rates of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea compared to dulaglutide, but serious side effects and treatment discontinuation are uncommon with either drug.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.