Tirzepatide versus GLP-1 receptor agonists and stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation and type 2 diabetes
Lin CL, Lin KC, Yu JM, et al. (2026). Nature Communications.
Summary
A retrospective study using a large international network of electronic health records, comparing adults with atrial fibrillation and type 2 diabetes who started tirzepatide with matched adults who started another GLP-1 receptor agonist (14,118 pairs). Tirzepatide use was associated with lower risks of any stroke, ischaemic stroke, haemorrhagic stroke and death from any cause; at one year the absolute difference was 2.1 percentage points for stroke and 6.2 for death. The authors describe the findings as observational and say randomised trials are needed before treatment recommendations change.