Digitalis is used to produce a strong and effective medication to treat patients with heart problems. It is also known as “Fox glove” which are plants. Digitalis is made of ‘Digitalis purpurea’, a plant. Digitalis is a medication prescribed to certain heart patients. Digitalis is used to treat congestive heart failure (CHF), a condition that occurs when the heart becomes enlarged and loses some of its effectiveness in pumping blood. Digitalis is also used to treat problems in heart rhythm. Digitalis can increase blood flow throughout the body and reduce swelling in the hands and ankles. The other names for Digitalis are Dead Man's Bells, Digitale, Digitalis lanata, Digitalis purpurea, Fairy Cap, Fairy Finger, Foxglove, Lady's Thimble, Lion's Mouth, Purple Foxglove, Scotch Mercury, Throat wort, Witch's Bells, and Woolly Foxglove. Basically, Digitalis is a plant. People use the ground parts for medicine. The most common prescription form of this medication is called ‘Digoxin’. Digitoxin is another form of digitalis.
What is Foxglove?
Foxglove is grown in gardens as a well-liked flower and also grows wild along roadsides and in meadows or logged areas, particularly in the western United States. The botanical name for common foxglove is ‘Digitalis purpurea’. Foxglove was introduced to the United States by European refugee’s centuries ago. Foxglove has tube-shaped, spotted, purple flowers and grows to about five feet tall, with many large, thick, hairy leaves at the base of a tall stem. The range of flowers grown in gardens differs in color from white to a deep rose.
What is the Historical background of Digitalis?
Citizens in different parts of the world have used many plant extracts containing cardiac glycosides as arrow and torment poisons. The early Egyptians used ‘squill’ as a medicine. The Romans used it as a diuretic, heart tonic, emetic, and rat poison. In AD 1250, Digitalis or foxglove was stated in the writings of Welsh physicians such as Fuchsius, who described it botanically 300 years later and gave it the name ‘Digitalis purpurea’. The discovery of digitalis is credited to the Scottish doctor William Withering. In 18th century, his girlfriend got him interested in plants and botany which lead William to discover digitalis. Indians in South America have used cardiac glycosides in their flit poisons. All through the early 20th century, digitalis was slowly identified as specific for treatment of atrial fibrillation. Recently, the value of digitalis for treatment of congestive heart failure (CHF) is established.
How does Digitalis work in Heart patients?
Digitalis medications reinforce the strength of the heartbeat by increasing the amount of calcium in the heart's cells. Calcium stimulates the heartbeat. As soon as digitalis reaches the heart muscle, it attached to sodium and potassium receptors. These receptors manage the amount of calcium in the heart muscle by stopping the calcium from leaving the You do not have access to view this node. Once the calcium accumulates in the You do not have access to view this node, it creates a stronger heartbeat.
Digitalis medicines control irregular heart rhythms, called arrhythmias by slowing the signals that start in the sinoatrial (SA) node. This, sequentially, reduces the number of signals that travel through the atrioventricular (AV node). Fewer signals mean less arrhythmia.
The amount of medicine a patient requires may differ. The patient should follow the doctor's orders for taking digitalis.
What are the Brand names commonly used for Digitalis?
The commonly used brand names in U.S. are: Lanoxicaps (digoxin), Lanoxin (digoxin), Lanoxin Elixir Pediatric (digoxin), Lanoxin Injection (digoxin), Lanoxin Injection Pediatric (digoxin)
The common brand names in Canada are: Digitaline (digitoxin), Lanoxin (digoxin), Lanoxin pediatric Elixir (digoxin), Novo-Digoxin (digoxin).
What are the medicines that interact with Digitalis?
Heart medications, like anti-arrhythmia drugs, cholesterol reducing medications, and nitroglycerin will interact with digitalis. Also, some antibiotics interact with digitalis. Oral anti-fungal medications should also be avoided also.
What are the side-effects in taking Digitalis?
Some common side effects in taking digitalis are erectile dysfunction and Breast enlargement in men. Serious side effects include:
Illusions, confusion, and depression
Strange tiredness or weakness
An irregular heartbeat that causes giddiness, the feeling that heart has skipped a beat (palpitations), shortness of breath, sweating or fainting
Problem with the eyesight, such as blurry eyesight, double vision or seeing yellow, green, or white radiances around objects
Although the anticipated goal of taking the heart medicinedigitalis toxicity was to improve the overall condition of the patient, there have been occasions where the ingestion of the digitalis went wrong. One of the most common negative results derived from taking ‘Digoxin’ is digitalis toxicity which is when the body is basically poisoned by high concentrations of digitalis in the bloodstream. It may be happen when a patient takes more than a large amount of the drug at one time. This is called acute ingestion.
What are the causes of Digitalis toxicity?
Digitalis toxicity can be due to the high levels of digitalis in the body, or a decreased tolerance to digitalis. Patients with decreased tolerance may have "normal" digitalis levels in their blood.
If other risks are also there, digitalis toxicity may happen in patients with normal blood levels of digitalis.
Digitalis toxicity can take place from a single exposure or from a constant overmedication.
A general medicine given to heart failure patients those who take digoxin is commonly called ‘Diuretics’. This removes excess fluid from the body. Many diuretics can cause loss of potassium in the body which increases the risk of digitalis toxicity.
Digitalis toxicity may also occur in patients who have low levels of magnesium in their body.
Decreased kidney function will make digitalis to accumulate in the body rather than be removed normally through urine. Hence, any disorders that interrupt kidney functioning, including dehydration make digitalis toxicity more possible.
Specific medications such as quinidine, verapamil, amiodarone and some other medicines may interact with digoxin or digitoxin. This leads to digitalis toxicity.