The cardioprotective effects of GLP-1 receptor agonists in patients with type 2 diabetes — including novel findings for reduced stroke — are consistent across the drug class, a major review has shown.

Results from the largest pooled study on the agents to date also suggest the cardiovascular benefits are not confined to the human-based incretin mimetics but also extend to the older exendin-4-based drugs, the UK-led researchers say.

And the findings bolster the growing body of evidence that GLP-1 receptor agonists are just as effective in reducing major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) independent of glucose control as the SGLT-2 inhibitors.

“The cardioprotective effects of human and exendin-4-based GLP-1 receptor agonists … represent an important treatment opportunity to reduce morbidity and mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes,” the authors, led by the University of Glasgow, wrote in Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology.