Researchers of the American Heart Association found that the weight loss medication tirzepatide can help lower blood pressure in obese adults. The relevant study involved nearly 500 adults with obesity. Th study’s authorsfound that tirzepatide substantially reduced systolic blood pressure. They noted the result over approximately eight months of treatment.
The Weight Loss Drug and Blood Pressure
Tirzepatide was initially approved for treating type 2 diabetes and chronic weight management. It was approved by the US and the EU authorities in 2023. The recent study published in Hypertension revealed that use of tirzepatide could help lower blood pressure. The mean reductions comprised 7.4 mmHg with tirzepatide 5 mg, 10.6 mmHg with tirzepatide 10 mg, and 8.0 mmHg with tirzepatide 15 mg. The reduction in systolic blood pressure was consistent across subgroups of participants. The results did not depend on age, gender, body mass index, and hypertension-related risk factors.
The phase 3 SURMOUNT 1 trial, which enrolled 2539 patients. Its findings suggest that the use of tirzepatide resulted in a mean percentage change in weight at week 72 of 15.0% with tirzepatide 5 mg, 19.5% with tirzepatide 10 mg, and 20.9% with tirzepatide 15 mg. The trial also indicated that changes in 24-hour systolic blood pressure correlated with change in body weight. This highlights the potential of this medication in managing both obesity and high blood pressure.
Strategy to prevent high blood pressure
More than 47% of adults in the United States have hypertension and nearly 42% have obesity. In Europe, some 37% adulst have hypertension, and 23% are obese, and some further 30% are overweight. With such high prevalence rates, the need for effective weight management strategies is more critical than ever.
“Our findings indicate treating obesity with the weight loss medication tirzepatide may be an effective strategy for preventing or treating high blood pressure,” said lead study author Dr. James A. de Lemos. “Although tirzepatide has been studied as a weight loss medication, the blood pressure reduction in our patients in this study was impressive. While it is not known if the impact on blood pressure was due to the medication or the participants’ weight loss, the lower blood pressure measures seen with tirzepatide rivaled what is seen for many hypertension medications.”
Eli Lilly developed tirzepatide and holds the patents for its production. They also market the drug under the brand names Mounjaro (for type 2 diabetes) and Zepbound (for weight management).
