MONDAY, Aug. 10, 2026 (HealthDay News) — The weight loss drug Zepbound might cut the risk of heart attack or stroke among type 2 diabetics with excess weight and heart problems, a new study says.

Patients taking tirzepatide (Zepbound/Mounjaro) had a 32% lower risk of heart attack, stroke or death from any cause compared to those taking another diabetes drug, researchers reported Aug. 5 in The BMJ.

Those taking tirzepatide also had a lower risk of severe infections, results showed.

Their risk of infections requiring hospital admission dropped by 36%, and their risk of infection-related death by as much as 60%, researchers found.

“The data on infections surprised us because the findings were so striking,” said lead researcher Dr. Nils Krüger, a resident physician of cardiovascular diseases at the Technical University of Munich Hospital in Germany.

“Previous studies have suggested that people treated with GLP-1 agonists are less likely to be hospitalized for infections and less likely to die from them,” Krüger said in a news release.

For the new study, researchers analyzed data on nearly 53,000 people, of whom about 35,000 started tirzepatide. The rest were taking sitagliptin, another diabetes drug.

All of the patients had type 2 diabetes, a diagnosis of heart disease, and a body mass index (BMI) that indicated either overweight or obesity, researchers said. BMI is an estimate of body fat based on height and weight.

The data came from two U.S. health insurance claims databases, and ran from May 2022 to May 2025.

After a year, the risk of heart attack, stroke or death was about 2.9% in the tirzepatide group versus 4.4% in the sitagliptin group, the study found.

Overall, for every 70 patients starting tirzepatide, one case of heart attack, stroke or death would be prevented, researchers concluded.

In addition, one infection-related hospital admission for every 48 patients on tirzepatide would be prevented. There would also be one fewer infection-related death for every 200 patients, and one less death from any cause for every 122 patients.

The reasons for these benefits are not yet fully understood, Krüger said.

“There is evidence that obesity promotes inflammatory processes in the body, which may in turn impair immune function,” Krüger said. “The exact mechanisms and whether this apparent benefit would also occur without weight loss now need to be investigated.”

More information

The National Academy of Medicine has more on GLP-1 drugs.

SOURCES: Technical University of Munich, news release, Aug. 6, 2026; BMJ, news release, Aug. 6, 2026

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