Serum levels and clinical response to digoxin in congestive heart failure in the elderly

Since two centuries the use of digitalis glycosides for treatment of congestive heart failure has received conflicting acceptance by clinicians. We studied a group of94 old-aged patients with various degrees of chronic heat failure receiving chronically two types of digitalis(digoxin or B-metyl-digoxin) to evaluate compliance, adverse reaction and clinical picture. The study confirmed that both drugs were able to give a good compliance, with therapeutic plasma levels, without signs of accumulation. In conclusion treatment of elderly patients with low doses of digitalis without clinical signs of heart insufficiency or referring this event in the past , o showing sub-therapeutic serum digoxin levels is a practice not to be stressed