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Digoxin Therapy in Acute Heart Failure

  • Chapter
Acute Heart Failure

Part of the book series: Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine ((UICM,volume 6))

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Abstract

The use of digitalis glycosides in the management of acute heart failure remains controversial [1–4]. In 1785, Withering [5] recognized that the narrow therapeutic-toxic dose ratio of cardiac glycosides dictated a firm understanding of the mechanisms of action and toxicities of these drugs on the part of physicians to ensure skillful clinical use. For purposes of this discussion, the term digitalis refers to all of the glycoside compounds that have both inotropic and electrophysiologic effects on the heart. Since the pharmacologic actions of these drugs are basically similar, they are considered as a group with special reference to a few of the cardiac glycosides in widespread clinical use.

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Authors
  1. E. C. Rackow
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  2. M. I. Griffel
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  3. M. H. Weil
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Intensive Care, C. H. U. Vaudois, CH-1011, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Claude Perret (Director) (Director)

  2. Department of Intensive Care, Erasme University Hospital, Route de Lennik 808, B-1070, Brussels, Belgium

    Jean Louis Vincent (Assistant-Director) (Assistant-Director)

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© 1988 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Rackow, E.C., Griffel, M.I., Weil, M.H. (1988). Digoxin Therapy in Acute Heart Failure. In: Perret, C., Vincent, J.L. (eds) Acute Heart Failure. Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, vol 6. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-83453-0_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-83453-0_16

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-19169-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-83453-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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