Do the heart benefits go away if I stop taking it? — looking for input

Dr.EM_Chicago said:

Positive "side effect" of cardiovascular risk: my blood pressure dropped so much that I'm now off losartan entirely!

Can confirm. Same sequence, different timescale. The detail I would add is minor and it is already implied above.

Dr.EM_Chicago said:

Positive "side effect" of cardiovascular risk: my blood pressure dropped so much that I'm now off losartan entirely!

CRP reduction on cardiovascular risk — this is the lab result that excites me most:

Baseline hsCRP: 6.0 mg/L (high cardiovascular risk)
Month 6 hsCRP: 3.5 mg/L (moderate risk)
Month 12 hsCRP: 0.9 mg/L (low risk)

This level of inflammatory marker reduction is comparable to what you'd see with statin therapy. Combined with the weight loss, my 10-year ASCVD risk score dropped from 13% to 6%. My cardiologist is genuinely impressed.

Dr.EM_Chicago said:

Positive "side effect" of cardiovascular risk: my blood pressure dropped so much that I'm now off losartan entirely!

Cardiac biomarkers and cardiovascular risk: my cardiologist ordered advanced cardiac labs given my family history. Results were encouraging:

• NT-proBNP: 46 pg/mL (normal, cardiac function preserved)
• Lp(a): 26 nmol/L (genetic, unchanged — expected)
• ApoB: dropped from 141 to 86 mg/dL (excellent response)
• Coronary calcium score: 0 (unchanged from baseline — reassuring)

The ApoB reduction is particularly meaningful — it's considered the best single predictor of cardiovascular risk. GLP-1 therapy seems to improve this consistently.

One thing that is still open after Dr.EM_Chicago’s answer:

What would you measure differently if you were starting again?

josh_phd_bmore said:

Cardiac biomarkers and cardiovascular risk: my cardiologist ordered advanced cardiac labs given my family history.

Metabolic syndrome resolution on cardiovascular risk: I went from meeting 4 of 5 diagnostic criteria to meeting ZERO after 9 months of treatment.

The 5 criteria (and my journey):

1. Waist circumference: 48" → 34" ✅ Resolved
2. Triglycerides: 268 → 98 ✅ Resolved
3. HDL: 32 → 60 ✅ Resolved
4. Blood pressure: 148/94 → 121/75 ✅ Resolved
5. Fasting glucose: 118 → 84 ✅ Resolved

Metabolic syndrome reversal is, in my view, the most medically significant outcome of GLP-1 therapy.