Short answer
Yes, there is a real upside: lower heart and kidney risk in major trials.
In the SELECT trial, semaglutide reduced the risk of cardiovascular death, heart attack, or stroke by about 20 percent in adults with heart disease and overweight or obesity who did not have diabetes. In the FLOW trial, semaglutide lowered the risk of major kidney events and cardiovascular death by 24 percent in adults with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease. For older adults with heart or kidney conditions, that upside can weigh heavily in the decision.
Start here
What you actually came to find out
Plain answers first. Sources stay below for checking details.
Is there a heart benefit?
Yes. SELECT showed about a 20 percent lower risk of heart attack, stroke, or CV death.
Who was studied for the heart?
Adults with heart disease and overweight or obesity, without diabetes.
Is there a kidney benefit?
Yes. FLOW showed a 24 percent lower risk of major kidney events.
Why does this matter at my age?
Heart and kidney conditions are common, so the upside can be large.
Heart
About 20% lower
SELECT found semaglutide cut CV death, heart attack, or stroke by about 20 percent.
Source trail: New England Journal of Medicine
Who
Heart disease, no diabetes
SELECT studied adults with heart disease and overweight or obesity without diabetes.
Source trail: New England Journal of Medicine
Kidney
24% lower
FLOW found a 24 percent lower risk of major kidney events and CV death.
Source trail: New England Journal of Medicine
Who
Diabetes + CKD
FLOW studied adults with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
Source trail: New England Journal of Medicine
The clear point is that these drugs do more than weight loss. If you have heart disease or diabetic kidney disease, the trial evidence is a real reason to discuss one with your doctor.
Neutral landscape
The shape of the question
The SELECT trial is a main source because it showed a cardiovascular benefit in people with heart disease and obesity.
Source trail: New England Journal of Medicine
The population matters, since SELECT enrolled adults without diabetes, broadening who the benefit applies to.
Source trail: New England Journal of Medicine
The FLOW trial adds the kidney benefit in adults with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
Source trail: New England Journal of Medicine
For older adults, these conditions are common, so the upside can carry real weight in the decision.
Source trail: New England Journal of Medicine, New England Journal of Medicine
Curator core
What the authorities say
These sources are here for the reader who wants to check the work. The plain-English answer stays above them.
Source 01
New England Journal of Medicine
SELECT Trial: Semaglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes
The SELECT trial tested semaglutide in adults with cardiovascular disease and overweight or obesity who did not have diabetes.
Source framing
The SELECT trial found semaglutide reduced the risk of cardiovascular death, heart attack, or stroke by about 20 percent in adults with heart disease and overweight or obesity without diabetes.
Strongest for: the cardiovascular benefit shown in a large trial
Read at New England Journal of MedicineSource 02
New England Journal of Medicine
FLOW Trial: Semaglutide and Kidney Outcomes
The FLOW trial tested semaglutide in adults with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
Source framing
The FLOW trial found semaglutide lowered the risk of major kidney events and cardiovascular death by 24 percent in adults with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
Strongest for: the kidney benefit shown in a large trial
Read at New England Journal of MedicinePlain-English forks
The forks people face
Most retirement questions hide a few smaller decisions. These are the practical pieces that change the plan.
Do you have established heart disease?
Why it matters: SELECT showed a cardiovascular benefit in that group.
In real life: This fork can strengthen the case.
What to look at: What to look at: the heart-benefit evidence with your doctor.
Do you have diabetes with kidney disease?
Why it matters: FLOW showed a kidney benefit in that group.
In real life: This fork can strengthen the case.
What to look at: What to look at: the kidney-benefit evidence with your doctor.
Is weight your only goal?
Why it matters: The benefit is largest where heart or kidney disease is present.
In real life: This fork shapes how much the upside applies to you.
What to look at: What to look at: your full health picture.
Common questions
Quick answers
Short, plain answers for the questions people usually have next. The source trail stays available below.
Do GLP-1 drugs help the heart?+
Yes. The SELECT trial found semaglutide reduced cardiovascular death, heart attack, or stroke by about 20 percent in adults with heart disease and overweight or obesity who did not have diabetes.
Do GLP-1 drugs help the kidneys?+
Yes. The FLOW trial found semaglutide lowered the risk of major kidney events and cardiovascular death by 24 percent in adults with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
Do you need diabetes to get the heart benefit?+
No. The SELECT trial specifically studied adults who did not have diabetes, which is part of why the result drew so much attention.
Why does this matter for older adults?+
Heart disease and kidney disease are common with age, so for many older adults the heart and kidney benefits can weigh heavily alongside weight.
Should I start one for my heart?+
That is a decision for you and your doctor, who can weigh your specific heart or kidney condition. The trial evidence is a strong reason to have the conversation.
How this page is curated
This page uses the SELECT cardiovascular trial and the FLOW kidney trial, both published in the New England Journal of Medicine. It is factual information, not medical advice, and notes the specific populations each trial studied.
Read the planner methodologyTrust anchor
Sources used on this page
Every source named above is listed here in one place.
New England Journal of Medicine. SELECT Trial: Semaglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2307563New England Journal of Medicine. FLOW Trial: Semaglutide and Kidney Outcomes
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2403347
Before you act on this
This plan is educational. It is not personalized financial, tax, or insurance advice. Projections illustrate the math, they do not predict the future. Talk to your own licensed financial professional before acting on any of it.