For more than 200 years physicians have been trying to figure out how and when to use the heart drug digoxin. Although it has a narrow therapeutic window and potentially dangerous interactions with other drugs, it is endorsed by current guidelines and widely given to patients with heart failure (HF) and atrial fibrillation (AF). However, there…
Study Offers Little Support for an Old Drug
August 11, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Digoxin is one of the oldest drugs in the cardiovascular arsenal, derived from the foxglove plant and first described in the 18th century by William Withering. It is frequently used in patients with heart failure (HF) and with atrial fibrillation (AF). The few trials supporting its use were performed in HF patients before newer treatments…
Study Raises Questions About Digoxin Use Today
September 24, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Digitalis is one of the oldest medicines in the cardiovascular arsenal. When William Withering identified digitalis as the active ingredient in the foxglove plant more than 200 years ago he was only codifying a longstanding folk remedy for heart failure, or “dropsy” as it was known then. Digitalis fully entered the modern era with the…
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