Obesity drug Wegovy is approved to cut heart attack and stroke risk in overweight patients

The popular weight-loss drug Wegovy, which has helped millions of Americans shed pounds, can now be used to reduce the risk of stroke, heart attacks and other serious cardiovascular problems in patients who are overweight or who have obesity, federal regulators said Friday.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a label change requested by drugmaker Novo Nordisk that expands the use of semaglutide.

The decision was based on the results of a study that found that Wegovy cut the risk of serious heart problems — including heart attack, stroke and heart-related deaths. Higher-weight patients with heart disease but not diabetes were 20% less likely to experience those problems compared with patients who took placebo, or dummy shots, the study found.

Wegovy is the first medication approved to help prevent the potentially life-threatening events in this population, the agency said.