Key result
GLP-1 receptor agonists reduce clinical heart failure events ~14% vs. placebo.
Why the study?
Do glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists reduce clinical heart failure events in adults with type 2 diabetes and/or overweight or obesity, and is this benefit associated with on-treatment changes in annualised eGFR and cardiometabolic markers?
Meta-Analysis (n=90,867)
Do glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists reduce clinical heart failure events in adults with type 2 diabetes and/or overweight or obesity, and is this benefit associated with on-treatment changes in annualised eGFR and cardiometabolic markers?
Across 11 large RCTs, GLP-1RAs reduced clinical heart failure events by 14%, and trial-level annualised eGFR preservation—rather than weight loss, SBP reduction, or heart rate change—was strongly associated with the magnitude of heart failure risk reduction.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
GLP-1RAs warrant use to reduce HF events in T2D or obesity; extends evidence by linking benefit magnitude to annualised eGFR improvement.
Aims To examine whether on‐treatment changes in kidney function and cardiometabolic markers are associated with the magnitude of heart failure (HF) risk reduction across large‐scale trials of glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonists (GLP‐1RAs). Materials and Methods We searched PubMed and Embase from inception to 29 January 2026 for randomised, placebo‐controlled GLP‐1RA trials enrolling ≥ 1000 adults with type 2 diabetes and/or overweight or obesity and a follow‐up of at least one year. The primary outcome was clinical HF events (hospitalisation for HF, with or without urgent HF visits). We pooled hazard ratios (HRs) using random‐effects meta‐analysis and performed mixed‐effects meta‐regression to test whether between‐group changes in annualised estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) improvement, body weight, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and heart rate were associated with the treatment effect on clinical HF events. Results Eleven trials were included (90 867 participants; 2863 clinical HF events). GLP‐1RAs reduced the risk of clinical HF events (HR 0.86, 95% CI 0.80 to 0.93, p < 0.001, I 2 = 2.1%). In meta‐regression, annualised eGFR improvement was significantly associated with greater HF risk reduction ( p = 0.009); at the trial level, each 1 mL/min/1.73 m 2 /year greater improvement in eGFR corresponded to a 21% lower hazard of clinical HF events (95% CI 7% to 32%). In contrast, changes in body weight, SBP, and heart rate were not associated with HF risk reduction. Conclusions Across large‐scale GLP‐1RA trials, greater annualised eGFR improvement was associated with larger reductions in clinical HF events. Annualised eGFR change may serve as a useful marker of HF benefit with GLP‐1RAs.
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Hasebe et al. (2026) conducted a meta-analysis in Type 2 diabetes and/or overweight or obesity (n=90,867). Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) vs. Placebo was evaluated on Clinical heart failure events (hospitalisation for heart failure, with or without urgent heart failure visits) (HR 0.86, 95% CI 0.80 to 0.93, p=< 0.001). GLP-1 receptor agonists reduced clinical heart failure events compared with placebo, with greater annualised eGFR improvement linked to larger risk reduction.
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