The most widely available pharmaceutical preparation of the digitalis alkaloids is DIGOXIN. It is extracted from foxglove ( Digitalis purpurea). Before rise of the pharmaceutical industry in the 1900s, the herbal preparation of foxglove was used to treat “dropsy” or “heart dropsy”, now widely known as congestive heart failure. read more
Digoxin does not cause myocardial infarction (clogging up of an artery that nourishes and supplies oxygen to the nonstop contracting heart muscle tissue.) However, digoxin overdose, either intentional or not, can lead to a fatal cardiac arrhythmia, either extremely slow (complete electrical heart block) or extremely fast (ventricular fibrillation). read more
Both may mildly strengthen your heart and reduce your heart rate slightly. Digitalis may also decrease oedema (swelling caused by the build-up of fluid). It’s especially useful in people with irregular heart rhythms, notably atrial fibrillation with a rapid heart rate. read more
Digoxin is a pregnancy category "C" medicine, which means it’s unknown if the drug has any effect on pregnancy. It should be given only if the benefit to you outweighs the potential risk to the baby. Digoxin can be passed to a nursing baby through breast milk. What this does is not clear. read more