Summary

This article discusses the potential benefits of incretin therapies in patients with cardiovascular disease. The 2 main incretin hormones are glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and gastric inhibitory peptide. GLP-1 exerts beneficial effects on myocardial and endothelial function by inhibiting upregulation of reactive oxygen species and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 mRNA in endothelial cells.