The contemporary use of digoxin for the treatment of heart failure.

The use of digitalis has been plagued by controversy since its initial use by Withering in 1775. We now have much more data,1 but it should be remembered that the Digitalis Investigator Group trial was executed when -blockers were not widely used to treat heart failure. There are still many questions about where we currently stand with the use of digitalis. Specifically, when should one add digoxin to the medical regimen of a patient with heart failure symptoms? Another question that frequently arises is whether one should consider stopping digoxin in a patient referred for care who has chronic stable heart failure. I will briefly examine these 2 scenarios separately.