Mahmoud H Elbatreek,Zhen Li,Xiaoman Yu,Natalie D Gehred,Tatiana Gromova,Jingshu Chen,Miguel Huerta,Naoto Muraoka,Martin Borch Jensen,Vinay Kartha,Chris Carrico,Timothy D Allerton,Xinheng Zhang,Hsin-Jung R Yang,Michael E Bowdish,Sanjiv J Shah,Kathleen C Woulfe,Timothy A McKinsey,Edwin Yoo,David J Polhemus,Thomas M Vondriska,David J Lefer,Traci T Goodchild
{"title":"Semaglutide, independent of weight loss, attenuates cardiac and hepatic remodelling in experimental heart failure with preserved ejection fraction","authors":"Mahmoud H Elbatreek,Zhen Li,Xiaoman Yu,Natalie D Gehred,Tatiana Gromova,Jingshu Chen,Miguel Huerta,Naoto Muraoka,Martin Borch Jensen,Vinay Kartha,Chris Carrico,Timothy D Allerton,Xinheng Zhang,Hsin-Jung R Yang,Michael E Bowdish,Sanjiv J Shah,Kathleen C Woulfe,Timothy A McKinsey,Edwin Yoo,David J Polhemus,Thomas M Vondriska,David J Lefer,Traci T Goodchild","doi":"10.1093/eurheartj/ehag732","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehag732","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Background and Aims Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) remains a significant therapeutic challenge. While GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) show clinical promise, it remains unknown if their benefits are driven solely by weight loss or involve weight loss-independent mechanisms. We investigated the weight loss-independent effects of semaglutide in two preclinical models of cardiometabolic HFpEF: the ZSF1 Obese rat and the Göttingen HFpEF minipig. Methods Male ZSF1 Obese rats (n = 12/group) and female Göttingen minipigs with ‘two-hit’ induced HFpEF (early intervention: n = 5/group; delayed intervention: n = 4/group) were treated with semaglutide at doses empirically determined to be non-weight-loss inducing. Comprehensive assessments included invasive hemodynamic (LVEDP, PCWP), echocardiography, and histological quantification of fibrosis and lipid burden. Delayed intervention utilized Cardiac MRI to quantify subcutaneous and ectopic fat depots. In rats, advanced multi-omics (NULISA plasma proteomics, single-cell RNA sequencing and tissue proteomics) were utilized to explore molecular mechanisms. Results In ZSF1 Obese rats, semaglutide significantly improved diastolic function (reducing LVEDP by ∼60%) and attenuated cardiac hypertrophy (by ∼30%), interstitial fibrosis, and cardiac lipid deposition in the absence of a significant weight loss. These functional benefits were conserved in the minipig HFpEF model, where treatment attenuated cardiac hypertrophy, left ventricular E/e′, normalized pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) and reversed advanced hepatic bridging fibrosis. Delayed intervention in established HFpEF minipigs reversed diastolic dysfunction and significantly reduced ectopic lipid depots (intramyocardial, epicardial, and hepatic fat) without affecting subcutaneous fat or total body weight. Mechanistically, multi-omics analyses in the rat heart revealed that these benefits were driven by suppression of pro-fibrotic and hypertrophic signals and up-regulation of branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) catabolism and fatty acid oxidation pathways in cardiomyocytes. Conclusions Semaglutide attenuates cardiac and hepatic remodelling in preclinical models of obesity-associated cardiometabolic HFpEF in the absence of profound weight loss. The conservation of these effects across male rodents and female swine supports their translational relevance, while future studies are needed to define dose equivalence and confirm GLP-1 receptor engagement in cardiac and hepatic tissues. These findings support further mechanistic investigation of weight loss-independent GLP-1 receptor agonist signalling in this HFpEF phenotype.","PeriodicalId":11976,"journal":{"name":"European Heart Journal","volume":"24 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":39.3,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149087964","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Congenital heart disease in adults: evolving health systems and lifelong outcomes","authors":"Gerhard-Paul Diller,Curt Daniels,Ariane Marelli","doi":"10.1093/eurheartj/ehag616","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehag616","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Over the past decades, advances in the diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart disease have reshaped its epidemiology. Congenital heart disease is now increasingly a chronic, lifelong disorder, with adult survivors outnumbering affected children in many countries. This demographic transition has shifted the focus from preventing early mortality towards optimizing long-term health and managing comorbidities. Adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) experience acquired cardiovascular and systemic complications that challenge traditional models of care. As the lifelong burden of disease in ACHD patients continues to rise globally, advanced training pathways in ACHD have spearheaded the content expertise required to deliver high quality of care. The well-established hub-and-scope model has been recommended in the last two decades to improve ACHD care by expanding the number of specialized centres that allow ACHD specialists to reach underserved regions more effectively. However, the advent of technology, digital health, and artificial intelligence–enhanced decision-making provides an opportunity to imagine a different approach, to coordinate advances in research, clinical care, and health system design, with particular emphasis on scalable models that align expertise, data, and delivery across the life course. Networked care structures, workforce redesign, and digitally enabled learning health systems offer a pathway to close persistent gaps in care access and quality. Ultimately, the future of ACHD care will depend on our ability to integrate these innovations into routine practice, ensuring that extended survival is matched by preserved function, quality of life, and equitable outcomes at the population scale.","PeriodicalId":11976,"journal":{"name":"European Heart Journal","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":39.3,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149087968","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"European funding for cardiovascular research: room for improvement for the ERC track.","authors":"Reza Parvan, Cecilia M Linde, Rudolf A de Boer","doi":"10.1093/eurheartj/ehag415","DOIUrl":"10.1093/eurheartj/ehag415","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11976,"journal":{"name":"European Heart Journal","volume":" ","pages":"5230-5233"},"PeriodicalIF":45.3,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148162340","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Janis M Nolde, Marcio G Kiuchi, Mark Webster, Gerard Wilkins, Tamaz Shasburishvili, Irakli Gogorishvili, Revathy Carnagarin, Ancy E Jose, Lakshini Y Herat, Louise Woodhams, Murray D Esler, Gerard S Goh, Markus P Schlaich
{"title":"Combined hepatorenal denervation for hypertension and cardiometabolic disease: a first-in-human study.","authors":"Janis M Nolde, Marcio G Kiuchi, Mark Webster, Gerard Wilkins, Tamaz Shasburishvili, Irakli Gogorishvili, Revathy Carnagarin, Ancy E Jose, Lakshini Y Herat, Louise Woodhams, Murray D Esler, Gerard S Goh, Markus P Schlaich","doi":"10.1093/eurheartj/ehag460","DOIUrl":"10.1093/eurheartj/ehag460","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11976,"journal":{"name":"European Heart Journal","volume":" ","pages":"5314-5317"},"PeriodicalIF":45.3,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148283529","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Bianca Rocca: new editor-in-chief of the European Heart Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy.","authors":"Judith Ozkan","doi":"10.1093/eurheartj/ehag346","DOIUrl":"10.1093/eurheartj/ehag346","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11976,"journal":{"name":"European Heart Journal","volume":" ","pages":"5226-5227"},"PeriodicalIF":45.3,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148204596","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Weekly Journal Scan: Not all direct oral anticoagulants are created equal.","authors":"Giovanna Liuzzo, Carlo Patrono","doi":"10.1093/eurheartj/ehag469","DOIUrl":"10.1093/eurheartj/ehag469","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11976,"journal":{"name":"European Heart Journal","volume":" ","pages":"5323-5325"},"PeriodicalIF":45.3,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148283563","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}