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A July 2026 JAHA study found GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro cut deaths, amputations, and hospitalisations in diabetics with peripheral artery disease — a silent but devastating condition common in Indian patients.
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For the millions of Indians living with both type 2 diabetes and disease in the arteries of their legs, a major new study published on July 1, 2026 in the Journal of the American Heart Association brings important and potentially life-saving news. GLP-1 medications — the same class of drugs as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro — have been found to significantly reduce the risk of death, amputation, and hospitalisation in people with both type 2 diabetes and peripheral artery disease (PAD). For Indian patients, where this combination is common and often catastrophically under-treated, this research could not come at a more critical time.
What Is Peripheral Artery Disease and Why Does It Matter?
Peripheral artery disease, often called PAD, is a condition where the arteries that supply blood to the legs become narrowed or blocked due to a build-up of fatty deposits — the same process that narrows arteries around the heart. In people with type 2 diabetes, this process is dramatically accelerated. High blood sugar damages artery walls, promotes inflammation, and speeds up the formation of plaques that restrict blood flow to the feet and legs.
The consequences of PAD in diabetics are severe. When blood flow to the legs is restricted, even minor cuts or injuries on the feet may fail to heal properly. Tissue deprived of blood and oxygen begins to die. In advanced cases, this leads to gangrene and ultimately to amputation — one of the most feared complications of diabetes. India has one of the highest rates of diabetes-related amputation in the world. Studies estimate that a lower-limb amputation occurs every 30 seconds globally due to diabetes, and India accounts for a disproportionate share of these cases.
Despite this, PAD often goes undiagnosed in India because its early symptoms — cramping or pain in the legs during walking, known as claudication — are frequently dismissed as normal aging or a simple muscle problem. By the time patients present with non-healing wounds on their feet, the disease may already be advanced.
What the New Study Found
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The research team analyzed electronic health records from the TriNetX global health database, identifying adults diagnosed with both type 2 diabetes and PAD between January 2010 and January 2025 — a combined observation period spanning 15 years of real-world clinical data. They compared outcomes between patients who were taking a GLP-1 receptor agonist medication and those who were not.
The results, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association and highlighted by the American Heart Association on July 1, 2026, were clear and clinically meaningful. Patients with both type 2 diabetes and PAD who were taking GLP-1 medications had significantly fewer deaths, significantly fewer amputations, and significantly fewer hospitalizations than comparable patients not on these drugs. The benefits were most pronounced in two groups: patients with severe PAD and patients who also had obesity. Notably, patients on GLP-1 therapy also needed fewer vascular procedures — operations to restore blood flow to the legs — than patients who were not taking these medications.
This is the first large-scale analysis to specifically examine GLP-1 outcomes in people with the combined diagnosis of type 2 diabetes and PAD, and its results add to a growing body of evidence that GLP-1 drugs protect not just the heart, but the entire vascular system.
Why Indian Patients Are Especially Vulnerable to This Combination
The combination of type 2 diabetes and PAD is alarmingly common in India, and for reasons that go beyond lifestyle alone. Indian patients develop both conditions at younger ages and at lower body weights than Western populations. This means many Indian patients with diabetes are already at elevated PAD risk even before they develop the degree of obesity typically associated with vascular disease in Western countries.
India has approximately 77 million adults with type 2 diabetes — the second largest diabetic population in the world. Among those with diabetes, PAD affects an estimated 20 to 25 percent, although the true number may be higher because PAD is systematically underdiagnosed. The problem is compounded by limited access to vascular specialists in many parts of India, delayed diagnosis, and a cultural tendency to dismiss leg pain as a normal consequence of aging or hard work.
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For Indian patients with diabetes and PAD, the standard of care has historically been aggressive blood sugar management, blood pressure control, and, when needed, vascular interventions such as angioplasty or bypass surgery to restore leg blood flow. GLP-1 medications were not typically part of this conversation beyond their role in managing blood sugar. The new JAHA study changes that picture fundamentally — it positions GLP-1 therapy as a potential disease-modifying treatment for the vascular complications of diabetes, not just the metabolic ones.
How GLP-1 Drugs Protect the Blood Vessels of the Legs
Researchers believe GLP-1 medications protect against PAD progression through several interconnected mechanisms. First and most directly, GLP-1 drugs substantially reduce blood sugar and HbA1c — the primary long-term driver of arterial damage in diabetes. Consistently lower blood sugar means less ongoing damage to arterial walls and a slower rate of plaque formation.
Second, GLP-1 medications reduce inflammation. Chronic low-grade inflammation is a key driver of arterial disease in people with diabetes, and GLP-1 drugs have been shown to reduce circulating inflammatory markers. Third, they lower blood pressure and improve cholesterol profiles, both of which independently reduce PAD progression risk. Finally, meaningful weight loss reduces the mechanical and metabolic stress on blood vessels, improving circulation throughout the body including the legs. The JAHA study noted that the benefits were greatest in patients with severe PAD and obesity, suggesting that the combination of inflammation reduction and weight loss may be especially protective in the highest-risk group.
What This Means for Indian Patients With Diabetes and Leg Problems
If you have type 2 diabetes and have been told you have peripheral artery disease, narrowing of the leg arteries, poor circulation in your legs, or if you have experienced non-healing wounds on your feet or pain in your legs when walking — the new JAHA data gives you a compelling reason to speak to your doctor about GLP-1 therapy.
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This is especially important if you are not already on a GLP-1 medication. Many Indian patients with diabetes are managed on older oral medications like metformin or sulfonylureas, without the added vascular protection that GLP-1 drugs appear to provide. If you have PAD, the evidence now suggests that upgrading your diabetes treatment to include a GLP-1 receptor agonist may do more than control your blood sugar — it may reduce your risk of losing a limb or your life.
Access to GLP-1 therapy in India has improved significantly in 2026. Generic semaglutide is now available from Indian manufacturers including Natco Pharma, Sun Pharma, and Cipla, with prices starting at approximately Rs 1,290 to Rs 6,000 per month depending on the brand and dose. Mounjaro (tirzepatide) from Eli Lilly is also available in India for patients with type 2 diabetes. A GLP-1 specialist can help you determine which medication is right for your specific clinical profile and arrange the appropriate monitoring.
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Disclaimer: This article is based on information published on the referenced websites below and is intended for general awareness only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice.
References: 1. American Heart Association Newsroom — https://newsroom.heart.org/news/can-glp-1-medications-improve-health-in-people-with-type-2-diabetes-and-pad 2. Medical News Today — https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/semaglutide-may-lower-risk-serious-complications-diabetes-peripheral-artery-disease 3. Journal of the American Heart Association — https://www.ahajournals.org/journal/jaha
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