Wegovy is a weight-loss drug. Health Canada says it can now be used to curb heart-attack risk [Video]

Health Canada has approved Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss drug Wegovy to reduce the risk of non-fatal heart attack, the drug maker says.

Novo Nordisk said Wednesday that Wegovy is the first Health Canada-approved treatment for both chronic weight management and to reduce the risk of non-fatal myocardial infarction.

The treatment reduces the risk of such incidents in adults with established cardiovascular disease and a body mass index equal to or greater than 27 kilograms per metre squared, according to Health Canada’s approval notice.

In Canada, heart disease is the second leading cause of death after cancer and a leading cause of hospitalization.

Dr. Jacob Udell, a cardiologist at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, called the approval huge news “that will hopefully result in more people getting the medicine as part of appropriate care for their heart disease when one also has obesity or overweight.”

Udell said the key next stage is for public and private …