Pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk announced Friday that its blockbuster weight loss drug Wigovy has been approved to reduce the risk of heart disease.

The company said the Food and Drug Administration has updated the drug’s label to allow Wigoby to be prescribed to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States.

The changes come as Novo Nordisk found in a late-stage clinical trial of more than 17,000 adults that Wigovy reduced the risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes by 20% compared to a placebo. It was done after. All participants in the trial were overweight or obese and had a history of heart disease.

Label changes could mean more employers and insurance companies will be persuaded to cover the drug.

Many people are hesitant to cover expensive medications for weight loss.

Wegovy, like other weight loss drugs such as Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, is typically not covered by insurance. Medicare is prohibited by law from covering them.

Novo Nordisk said the approval makes Wigovy the first treatment approved in the United States to help people manage their weight and reduce their risk of heart disease.

Wegovy contains semaglutide, the same active ingredient found in the popular diabetes drug Ozempic, which is often prescribed off-label for weight loss purposes. Both are manufactured by Novo Nordisk.