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What Is Digoxin?

Digoxin is a prescription cardiac glycoside used for mild to moderate heart failure in adults, to increase heart muscle contractility in pediatric heart failure, and to control resting ventricular rate in adults with chronic atrial fibrillation. Tablets come in 62.5 mcg, 125 mcg, and 250 mcg strengths.

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What Is Digoxin?

Digoxin is a prescription cardiac glycoside used for mild to moderate heart failure in adults, to increase heart muscle contractility in pediatric heart failure, and to control resting ventricular rate in adults with chronic atrial fibrillation. Tablets come in 62.5 mcg, 125 mcg, and 250 mcg strengths.

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How Does Digoxin Affect the Heart?

Digoxin inhibits sodium-potassium ATPase. This increases intracellular calcium in heart muscle and raises contractile force. It also increases parasympathetic activity and slows conduction through the sinoatrial and atrioventricular nodes, which contributes to ventricular rate control in chronic atrial fibrillation.

Who Is Treated With Digoxin?

Digoxin treats mild to moderate heart failure in adults and increases myocardial contractility in pediatric patients with heart failure. In adults with chronic atrial fibrillation, it is used to control the resting ventricular response rate. It does not reliably control heart rate during exercise or convert atrial fibrillation to sinus rhythm.

How Are Digoxin Tablets Dosed?

Dosing is individualized according to age, lean body weight, kidney function, interacting medicines, clinical response, and serum concentration. Adults and patients older than 10 with normal kidney function have a starting maintenance range of 3.4 mcg to 5.1 mcg per kg once daily. Lower doses are used when kidney function is reduced.

What Serious Risks Are Linked to Digoxin?

Digoxin has a narrow therapeutic range. Toxicity can cause nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, visual disturbances, slow heart rate, heart block, ventricular arrhythmias, and ventricular fibrillation. Advanced age, low body weight, kidney impairment, low potassium, high calcium, or low magnesium increase toxicity risk. Ventricular fibrillation is a contraindication.

Frequently Asked Questions About Digoxin

What conditions does digoxin treat?

Digoxin treats selected heart failure and controls resting ventricular rate in adults with chronic atrial fibrillation.

How does digoxin increase heart contractility?

It inhibits sodium-potassium ATPase, which increases intracellular calcium in heart muscle cells.

Does kidney function affect digoxin dosing?

Yes. Digoxin is cleared mainly by the kidneys, so reduced kidney function calls for lower maintenance doses.

What are signs of digoxin toxicity?

Signs include nausea, vomiting, appetite loss, visual changes, slow heart rate, heart block, and other cardiac arrhythmias.

References

DailyMed - DIGOXIN tablet. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/lookup.cfm?setid=dbc0bc24-f250-47e8-8d10-6aef551823d7. Date Accessed September 25, 2026.

DailyMed - LANOXIN (digoxin) tablet. https://www.dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=d91e3646-4c63-4512-ab22-db39c085c4dc. Date Accessed September 25, 2026.

Digoxin. MedlinePlus. https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a682301.html. Date Accessed September 25, 2026.

Digoxin. PubChem. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Digoxin. Date Accessed September 25, 2026.

Digoxin. StatPearls. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK556025/. Date Accessed September 25, 2026.