The present systematic review and meta- analysis of all available data sources suggest that digoxin use is associated with an increased mortality risk , particularly among patients suffering from AF
There are conflicting data regarding the effect of digoxin use on mortality in patients with atrial fibrillation ( AF ) or with congestive heart failure ( CHF ) .
The aim of this meta- analysis was to provide detailed analysis of the currently available study reports .
The effect of gender on outcome in digitalis-treated heart failure patients.
BACKGROUND The use of digitalis is recommended for the treatment of heart failure to reduce hospitalization . Recent data suggest that digitalis treatment may adversely affect survival in women but not in men . We studied patients with left ventricular dysfunction enrolled in the Studies of Left Ventricular Dysfunction ( SOLVD ) to determine whether there was a gender-based survival difference in patients treated with digitalis .  METHODS AND RESULTS Symptomatic ( n = 2569 ) and asymptomatic ( n = 4228 ) patients with left ventricular ejection fraction < or = 0.35 were studied . Digitalis use was assessed at baseline and baseline demographic variables were catalogued and compared . A multivariate analysis , incorporating known covariates of risk for adverse cardiovascular events , was used to examine the association of digitalis with all-cause mortality , cardiovascular death , death from heart failure , and arrhythmic death , with , or without , worsening heart failure in women compared with men . Analysis for an interaction between digitalis and gender on mortality was also performed . No interaction between gender and digitalis treatment on survival was found , and there was no significant difference in the hazard ratios for men and women on digitalis either with respect to all-cause mortality , cardiovascular mortality , heart failure mortality , or arrhythmic death with worsening heart failure . When mortality for arrhythmic death without worsening heart failure was adjusted for the probability of being treated with digitalis ( propensity analysis ) , women fared better than men . CONCLUSION Data from the SOLVD trials suggest that digitalis treatment of heart failure does not result in a difference in survival between men and women . Because a r and omized trial to definitively answer the question is unlikely , and perhaps inappropriate , examination of other heart failure population s for a gender-digitalis interaction is indicated
The present systematic review and meta- analysis of all available data sources suggest that digoxin use is associated with an increased mortality risk , particularly among patients suffering from AF
There are conflicting data regarding the effect of digoxin use on mortality in patients with atrial fibrillation ( AF ) or with congestive heart failure ( CHF ) .
The aim of this meta- analysis was to provide detailed analysis of the currently available study reports .