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Updated: May 20, 2026

A Zebrafish Model of Diabetes Mellitus and Metabolic Memory
Published on: February 28, 2013
Cardiovascular effects of GLP-1 and GLP-1-based therapies: implications for the cardiovascular continuum in diabetes?
M Burgmaier1, C Heinrich, N Marx
1Department of Internal Medicine I-Cardiology, University Hospital Aachen, RWTH Aachen, Germany.
Aims:
Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and inhibitors of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 that increase glucagon-like peptide-1 plasma concentrations are current treatment options for patients with diabetes mellitus. As patients with diabetes are a high-risk population for the development of a severe and diffuse atherosclerosis, we aim to review the potential action of these drugs on cardiovascular disease and to summarize the potential role of present glucagon-like peptide-1-based therapies from a cardiologist's point of view.
Methods:
Using a PubMed/MEDLINE search without language restriction, studies were identified and evaluated in order to review the effects of glucagon-like peptide-1-based therapy on different stages of the cardiovascular continuum.
Results:
Recent experimental as well as clinical data suggest that dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists--in addition to their metabolic effects--may have beneficial effects on the cardiovascular continuum at multiple stages, including: (1) cardiovascular risk factors; (2) molecular mechanisms involved in atherogenesis; (3) ischaemic heart disease; and (4) heart failure. Furthermore, retrospective analysis suggested decreased cardiovascular events in patients with glucagon-like peptide-1-based therapies.
Conclusion:
There are ample data to suggest beneficial effects of glucagon-like peptide-1-based therapies on the cardiovascular continuum and large-scale clinical trials are warranted to determine whether these effects translate into improved cardiovascular endpoints in humans.
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