Hormonal
GLP-1 agonists demonstrate stroke outcomes superior to bariatric surgery, while showing similar event rates for myocardial infarction (MI) and overall cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to control groups, whereas bariatric surgery demonstrates a significant reduction in the risk of these studied events.
If you are considering treatments for obesity-related cardiovascular risk, GLP-1 medications offer a non-surgical option that matches standard care for heart attack and general cardiovascular disease prevention, while potentially offering better protection against strokes compared to bariatric surgery outcomes in this review. However, bariatric surgery still shows a broad, significant reduction in overall cardiovascular risk. Consult a physician to weigh the specific stroke vs. heart attack risks and your tolerance for surgery versus long-term medication.
In conclusion, GLP-1 showed similar event rates to the control group for MI and CVD but better stroke outcomes. Moreover, bariatric surgery, across studies demonstrated a significant reduction in the risk of the studied events.
Why this rating
It is a systematic review of 16 studies with a large pooled population (283,983 patients), but the heterogeneity of interventions (7 studies on surgery, 7 on GLP-1) and lack of direct head-to-head randomized trials limits causal certainty.
Source
The Effect of GLP-1 on the Incidence of Cardiovascular Events Compared to Bariatric Surgery: Systematic Review
Njood A Alshowigi et al. · Acta Scientific Medical Sciences · 2023
DOI 10.31080/asms.2023.07.1606
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