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Every year, about 795,000 people suffer a stroke and about 805,000 people have heart attacks, according to the CDC.

Furthermore, people with a history of stroke or heart disease and who are overweight are at risk for another stroke or heart attack.

Now a massive study of 17,500 people in more than 700 locations around the world, including 200 in the U.S., is underway to help increase their lifespans.

Researchers are testing a medication called semaglutide, known on the market as Ozempic, against a placebo (a harmless, inert substance).

Ozempic isn’t an experimental drug. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Ozempic in 2017 for adults with type 2 diabetes.

In prior studies, when tested alongside a placebo, the drug reduced the risk of heart attack by 26% and stroke by 39% in diabetics. Now researchers want to know if it can help non-diabetics avoid heart attack or stroke, too.

Volunteers sought

A local medical center in Elkridge, Maryland, is seeking 10 more participants for the phase-three, randomized, blind study.

“This [drug] could be a game-changer,” said Dr. Steven Geller, internist at Centennial Medical Group. “It could have a huge impact on reducing the chance of somebody having a heart attack or stroke. [Participants] could make a real difference in people’s lives.”

The study will last five years. It requires 26 visits to a medical center located at 8186 Lark Brown Rd. in Elkridge, but the study drug (or placebo) can be administered at home.

To be eligible for the clinical trial, you must be over age 45 with normal blood sugar levels and a prior history of a heart attack, stroke or peripheral artery disease.

Once enrolled in the study, participants will visit Geller’s office 10 times in the first year and once every three months for the remaining four years. They will receive the drug or a placebo in a pen-like injection device, and they will be responsible for delivering their own injections every week.

Parking is free, and a $50 honorarium will be provided for each visit.

Centennial Medical Group is enrolling patients now until the end of this year. Geller said the study is impressive because it’s testing a drug that is truly unique.

“The funny joke is that now cardiologists are going to have to learn how to use diabetes drugs because now it’s going to be a cardiology drug, not a diabetes drug,” Geller said.

For more information, call Heather Dye, study coordinator, at (443) 698-8606 or email hdye@centennialmedical.com.