Digitalis and myocardial infarction in man.

• DOI: 10.1161/01.cir.62.1.8
• Publication Date: 2012-06-11T23:58:27Z
• Authors: J Morrison; J Coromilas; M Robbins; L Ong; S Eisenberg; R Stechel; M Zema; P Reiser; L Scherr
• Keywords: Adult; Male; Digoxin; Myocardial Infarction; Digitalis Glycosides; Middle Aged; Myocardial Contraction; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Humans; Female; Radionuclide Imaging; Aged

The use of digitalis after acute myocardial infarction is controversial. The effect of digoxin on computer-quantitated thallium-201 perfusion scintigrams (Tl-201), left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF), and percentage of abnormally contracting LV regions (% ACR) was determined in 23 patients. A correlation was established between creatine kinase MB isoenzyme release and initial radionuclide-gated blood pool wall motion estimates of EF (r = -0.73) and % ACR (r = 0.71). After radionuclide assessments, 14 patients received digoxin 18 +/- 23 hours (mean +/- SD) after the rise in CK-MB from baseline, while the remaining nine patients served as controls. In the control group, the mean EF was 0.33 +/- 0.12 on the first study and 0.30 +/- 0.08 on the second study (p = NS). In the digoxin group, the EF after digoxin administration (mean 0.33 +/- 0.11) was significantly different from the initial EF (mean 0.29 +/- 0.09, p less than 0.03); however, digoxin had no apparent effect on infarct size as assessed by sequential % ACR and Tl-201 perfusion data. These data indicate that digoxin resulted in a minimal but significant improvement in EF that did not occur at the expense of LV perfusion or regional wall motion.