United States: New dangers have been pinpointed this week, and specific advice on how to avoid strokes, a prime source of mortality and disability in the United States, has been given.
This is the first time in a decade that medical advisors within the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association have made massive changes to their guidelines.
The report released on Monday is among the findings: Ozempic, other GLP-1 drugs, and hormones involved in gender-affirming care; sex- and gender-specific stroke risks are described.
As per Dr. M. Shazam Hussain, who is the director of the Cerebrovascular Center for the Cleveland Clinic’s Neurological Institute, the study has given a perspective to broaden people’s consciousness about strokes and “make sure our populations are healthier.”
GLP-1 drugs reduce stroke risk
In the latest guidance, the AHA and ASA advise doctors on including Ozempic and other GLP-1 drugs in managing stroke risks among diabetic patients with a high heart disease risk.
The new recommendations are informed by data published last year on the drug Wegovy to cut the risk of stroke, USA Today reported.
Altogether, the study indicated that patients who took the drug and had a BMI high enough to be labeled as overweight or obese were 20 percent less likely to have a heart attack or stroke.
The study was conducted using funds from the drug maker Novo Nordisk, who also led the Food and Drug Administration in March to approve Wegovy to prevent stroke, heart attack, and other cardiovascular issues.
Gender-specific recommendations
This report also provides the first specific management recommendations for men and women, as far as the AHA and ASA address stroke prevention.
Hussain said, “In the past, we lumped all people together and assumed factors that are there for men are the exact same in women,” but it was deemed to be imprecise.
As for females, pregnancy, endometriosis, and menopause also raise the risk of stroke, according to the authors. This risk is also raised by hormonal contraception, although studies suggest that the rate of stroke among women who use it is lower than among pregnant women, USA Today reported.
The AHA and ASA reports also concern the risk of stroke when using testosterone in middle-aged and older men between 45– 80 years of age.
Besides, studies have also revealed that conflicting outputs taking the hormones, the FDA yet published a warning regarding the potential raised danger of stroke and heart attacks in 2015, the authors pointed.
As the authors put it, people who are consuming estrogen for gender-affirming care may have a raised risk of stroke. The research behind it is also in limited scope because of the lack of studies that include transgender and gender-diverse patients.