According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the European Association for the Study
of Diabetes guideline for treatment of diabetes, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-
1 RA) is recommended in diabetic patients with established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
This recommendation is based on the results of recent cardiovascular outcome trials of this kind of
medications. GLP-1 RAs have a glucose lowering effect with weight loss and a lower incidence of
hypoglycemia, and can improve cardiovascular outcomes such as three-point major cardiovascular
events composed of death from cardiovascular causes, non-fatal myocardial infarction, and non-fatal
stroke. Also, several GLP-1 RAs have beneficial effects on renal outcomes, mainly due to improvement
in macroalbuminuria. In addition, high-dose liraglutide (3 mg/day subcutaneous injection) showed
efficacy for reducing body weight. Therefore GLP-1 RA may be effective in patients with established
cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and/or metabolic syndrome.