Association Between Glucagon‐Like Peptide‐1 Receptor Agonists and Risk of Arrhythmias

Background Glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonists (GLP‐1 RAs), initially designed to treat diabetes mellitus (DM), have demonstrated the potential to mitigate obesity‐related cardiovascular risks. However, their effect on arrhythmias is not well established with limited literature. Objective This study aimed to assess the efficacy of GLP‐1 RAs and the risk of cardiac arrest and arrhythmias in obese patients based on real‐world evidence. Methods The TriNetX Global Collaborative Network research database was used to identify obese patients aged ≥ 18 years from January 2020 to December 2022. Patients were categorized into two groups, one with GLP‐1 RAs and a control group without GLP‐1 RAs. After propensity score matching (PSM), relative risk (RR) was used to compare outcomes over follow‐up periods of 1 year and 3 years. Results After 1:1 PSM, the study cohort comprised 342 753 patients in both groups. The study population had a mean age of 56.35 years. PSM analysis at 1 year follow‐up showed that the GLP‐1 RAs group of patients had a significantly lower risk of cardiac arrest (RR, 0.33 (95% CI: 0.31–0.37), p < 0.01), atrial fibrillation/flutter (RR, 0.63 (95% CI: 0.60–0.66), p < 0.01), ventricular fibrillation (RR, 0.45 (95% CI: 0.38–0.53), p < 0.01), ventricular tachycardia (RR, 0.56 (95% CI: 0.52–0.60), p < 0.01), second‐degree atrioventricular (AV) block (RR, 0.72 (95% CI: 0.63–0.82), p < 0.01), and complete heart block (RR, 0.62 (95% CI: 0.55–0.70), p < 0.01) when compared with the control group. Similar trends were observed for the 3‐year follow‐up as well. Conclusion This study suggests that GLP‐1 RAs use among obese patients was associated with lower risk of arrhythmias at both 1‐year and 3‐year follow‐ups.