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Digoxin for the treatment of chronic and acute heart failure syndromes

Mihai Gheorghiade1, Matthew E Harinstein, Gerasimos S Filippatos

  • 1Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA. m-gheorghiade@northwestern.edu

Acute Cardiac Care
|April 23, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Digoxin, a readily available heart failure treatment, shows potential benefits for both acute and chronic conditions. Further large clinical trials are recommended to confirm its efficacy in acute heart failure syndromes.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Digitalis preparations have a long history of use.
  • Digoxin is a versatile medication for heart failure (HF).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To summarize discussions on digoxin's role in acute and chronic heart failure.
  • To highlight digoxin's potential as an ideal treatment for acute heart failure syndromes.

Main Methods:

  • Review of presentations from the 2008 European Society of Cardiology Working Group on Acute Cardiac Care Meeting.
  • Synthesis of expert opinions on digoxin's application in heart failure.

Main Results:

  • Digoxin can be administered acutely and long-term, intravenously or orally.
  • The drug is considered safe and potentially beneficial for acute and chronic HF.
  • Digoxin may be an ideal agent for acute heart failure syndromes.

Conclusions:

  • Digoxin warrants further investigation in large clinical trials for acute heart failure.
  • The findings support continued evaluation of digoxin in managing heart failure.

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