Digoxin Tablet |DIGIOXIN 0.25

Digoxin 0.25mg is a cardiac glycoside, one of the oldest classes of medications still in active clinical use today, with a therapeutic history spanning well over two centuries since its origins in foxglove plant extracts. Despite the emergence of numerous newer heart failure and arrhythmia therapies, digoxin continues to hold a defined, valuable place in modern cardiology practice for specific clinical situations.

Under the brand name Digioxin 0.25, manufactured by Steris Healthcare, this formulation is prescribed by cardiologists and physicians for patients requiring digoxin's distinctive dual action on cardiac contractility and heart rate control.

Product Information

Why It's Important

Heart failure and atrial fibrillation remain two of the most significant cardiovascular conditions affecting adults in India, often occurring together and compounding each other's clinical burden. While modern heart failure management has evolved substantially with newer medication classes, digoxin continues to serve an important, well-defined role for specific patient populations where its unique mechanism offers particular clinical value.

Digoxin's clinical importance lies in its dual action: it increases the force of cardiac muscle contraction (a positive inotropic effect), which can help improve symptoms in patients with reduced heart pumping function, while also slowing the heart rate through its effects on the atrioventricular node — making it particularly useful for controlling the rapid heart rate often seen in atrial fibrillation. This combination of benefits is especially valuable in patients who have both heart failure and atrial fibrillation together, a common and clinically challenging combination.

For rate control in atrial fibrillation specifically, digoxin offers physicians an important option for patients who cannot tolerate or achieve adequate rate control with beta-blockers or calcium channel blockers alone, or for relatively sedentary patients where digoxin's rate-control profile may be particularly well suited, given that its effect is more pronounced at rest than during physical exertion.

Key Benefits

What Are the Benefits of Digioxin 0.25?

Digoxin 0.25mg, as formulated in Digioxin 0.25, offers several clinically meaningful advantages:

• Positive inotropic effect: Digoxin increases the force of cardiac muscle contraction, which can help improve symptoms and exercise tolerance in appropriately selected patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction.
• Effective rate control in atrial fibrillation: By slowing conduction through the atrioventricular node, digoxin helps control the rapid heart rate commonly seen in atrial fibrillation, particularly valuable in sedentary patients or those at rest.
• Complementary role in combined heart failure and atrial fibrillation: For patients managing both conditions simultaneously, digoxin's dual mechanism offers benefit across both aspects of their cardiac condition.
• Long-standing, well-characterized clinical experience: With over two centuries of clinical use, digoxin's efficacy, dosing principles, and safety monitoring framework are exceptionally well established in cardiology practice.
• Oral, non-invasive administration: As a tablet, digoxin offers a convenient, non-invasive treatment route for long-term cardiac management.
• Useful in specific patient populations: Particularly valuable for patients who have not achieved adequate rate control with beta-blockers or calcium channel blockers alone, or where these agents are not suitable.
• Established dosing and monitoring protocols: Decades of clinical experience have generated clear, well-defined therapeutic drug monitoring practices that support safe, effective long-term use when properly followed.
• Trusted manufacturing standards: Digioxin 0.25 is manufactured by Steris Healthcare, a WHO-GMP and ISO 9001:2018 certified pharmaceutical company, ensuring consistent potency and reliable quality across every batch — a particularly critical consideration for this narrow-therapeutic-index medication.

Side Effects 

Common side effects associated with Digoxin 0.25mg, particularly at the higher end of therapeutic dosing, include:

• Nausea
• Loss of appetite
• Mild fatigue
• Headache
• Dizziness
• Visual disturbances, such as seeing yellow-green halos around objects (a distinctive early sign that requires physician attention)
• Mild gastrointestinal discomfort

Because digoxin has a narrow therapeutic index, even mild side effects should be reported to the prescribing physician, as they may signal the need for dose reassessment or blood level monitoring.

Precautions & Warnings

Before starting Digioxin 0.25, patients and prescribers should carefully consider the following precautions:

• Narrow Therapeutic Index: Digoxin requires careful, individualized dosing and regular monitoring, as the difference between an effective and a toxic dose is relatively small.
• Renal Impairment: Dose adjustment is essential in patients with reduced kidney function, given digoxin's primary route of elimination through the kidneys.
• Electrolyte Imbalances: Low potassium (hypokalemia), low magnesium (hypomagnesemia), or high calcium (hypercalcemia) levels can significantly increase the risk of digoxin toxicity, even at otherwise normal digoxin doses; regular electrolyte monitoring is important, particularly in patients also taking diuretics.
• Cardiac Conduction Abnormalities: Should be used with particular caution in patients with pre-existing heart block or certain arrhythmias, given digoxin's effects on cardiac conduction.
• Thyroid Disorders: Dosing may need adjustment in patients with thyroid dysfunction, as thyroid status can affect digoxin sensitivity.
• Elderly Patients: Increased sensitivity to digoxin's effects and reduced renal clearance warrant particularly cautious dosing and close monitoring in this population.
• Drug Interactions: Numerous medications can significantly affect digoxin blood levels, including certain antibiotics, antiarrhythmics like amiodarone, diuretics, and some antifungal agents; all current medications should be disclosed to the prescribing physician.
• Pregnancy and Lactation: Should only be used if clearly necessary and under close medical supervision, with careful risk-benefit assessment.
• Regular Monitoring: Periodic digoxin blood level testing, along with renal function and electrolyte monitoring, is an essential and ongoing part of safe digoxin therapy.

Mechanism of Action 

Digioxin 0.25 exerts its therapeutic effects through a distinctive cellular mechanism characteristic of cardiac glycosides:

1. Inhibition of the Sodium-Potassium ATPase Pump: Digoxin binds to and inhibits the sodium-potassium ATPase enzyme on cardiac muscle cell membranes, leading to an increase in intracellular sodium concentration.
2. Increased Intracellular Calcium: The resulting rise in intracellular sodium reduces the activity of the sodium-calcium exchanger, leading to increased intracellular calcium concentration within cardiac muscle cells.
3. Positive Inotropic Effect: This increased intracellular calcium enhances the force of cardiac muscle contraction, improving the heart's pumping efficiency — the basis for digoxin's benefit in heart failure.
4. Enhanced Vagal Tone: Digoxin also increases parasympathetic (vagal) nervous system activity on the heart, which slows conduction through the atrioventricular node — the primary mechanism underlying its effectiveness for rate control in atrial fibrillation.
5. Reduced Sympathetic Activation: In heart failure, digoxin has also been shown to help reduce excessive sympathetic nervous system activation, which is believed to contribute additional clinical benefit beyond its direct inotropic effect.

This combined action on cardiac contractility and heart rate control through the autonomic nervous system is what has sustained digoxin's clinical relevance across more than two centuries of use, even as newer heart failure and arrhythmia therapies have emerged.

Frequently Asked Questions 

1. Where can I buy Digoxin 0.25 mg online?
You can purchase Digoxin 0.25 mg through licensed online pharmacies or authorized pharmaceutical suppliers. Verify the manufacturer, strength, batch number, expiry date, and packaging before purchasing.

2. What is the price of Digoxin 0.25 mg?
The price of Digoxin 0.25 mg may vary depending on the brand, manufacturer, pack size, seller, and applicable pharmacy charges. Check the current listed price before ordering.

3. Can I order Digoxin 0.25 mg online?
Yes, Digoxin 0.25 mg can be ordered online where legally available. As it is a prescription medicine requiring careful dosing, purchase it through a licensed pharmacy with a valid prescription.

4. Is Digoxin 0.25 mg available from Steris Healthcare?
Availability depends on Steris Healthcare's current product range and stock status. Contact Steris Healthcare or an authorized distributor to confirm availability, strength, pack size, and ordering details.

5. What is Digoxin 0.25 mg used for?
Digoxin 0.25 mg is a cardiac medicine used to help manage certain cases of heart failure and atrial fibrillation. It can help the heart pump more effectively and slow the heart rate in certain abnormal rhythms. It requires careful medical supervision.

6. What is the composition of Digoxin 0.25 mg?
Digoxin 0.25 mg contains Digoxin 0.25 mg as the active pharmaceutical ingredient. The inactive ingredients may vary depending on the manufacturer and formulation.

7. Is a prescription required?
Yes, Digoxin 0.25 mg is a prescription medicine and should be taken only under the supervision of a qualified healthcare professional. Because digoxin has a narrow therapeutic range, the prescribed dose should be followed carefully.

8. How should Digoxin 0.25 mg be taken?
Take Digoxin 0.25 mg exactly as prescribed by your doctor, usually at the same time each day. It can generally be taken with or without food, but take it consistently. Do not change the dose or stop treatment without medical advice.

9. What should I know before buying Digoxin 0.25 mg?
Before purchasing, verify the strength, manufacturer, batch number, expiry date, packaging, and storage instructions. Tell your doctor about kidney disease, heart rhythm problems, thyroid disorders, electrolyte abnormalities, and all other medicines or supplements you take. Digoxin toxicity can be serious, so dosing and monitoring are important.

10. How can I order Digoxin 0.25 mg online?
Order Digoxin 0.25 mg through a licensed online pharmacy or authorized pharmaceutical supplier. Provide a valid prescription, select the prescribed strength and pack size, and verify the product, expiry date, and delivery details before completing your order.