The heart rate monitoring drug digoxin may be linked with increased risk of death in incidents of atrial fibrillation, says a new study from researchers at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. According to lead researcher Claude Elayi, those taking the drug were 41 percent more likely to die during atrial fibrillation episodes.
For the study the researchers randomly assigned 4,060 patients to use of the drug. They found that death rates were further elevated in the short term, with those taking the drug a 69 percent increased risk of death within three years of starting to take the drug.
"These findings call into question the widespread use of digoxin in patients with atrial fibrillation," says the research team. "Patients without congestive heart failure or low ejection fraction lack the neurohormonal and inotropic derangements that may improve with digoxin, while remaining exposed to its potential deleterious effects such as pro-arrhythmia and bradycardia."
Their data appeared this week on the European Heart Journal online.
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