Stopping Ozempic may raise heart attack and stroke risk

A WashU Medicine study of 333,687 veterans with type 2 diabetes found that two years off GLP-1 drugs was linked to a 22% higher risk of heart attack, stroke and death versus continuous use. Restarting treatment only partially restored the cardiovascular benefit.

• Drugs studied: semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound)
• Three years of continuous use cut major cardiovascular event risk by 18%
• 26% of users stopped treatment entirely; another 23% had gaps of six months or more
• A six-month gap raised risk by 4–8%; two years off raised it by 22%