Some types of dysrhythmia are relatively harmless, while others, such as ventricular fibrillation, can be very dangerous. If a patient already has heart conditions which prevents functional blood flow to and from the heart, such as obstruction of the coronary artery, a dysrhythmia which increases oxygen demand can aggravate angina and lead to heart failure. In a healthy heart, dysrhthmia can still impair cardiac output and a condition such as ventricular tachycardia can lead to ventricular fibrillation and even death. Medication Treatment of particular dysrhythmias can be treated with digoxin and papaverine. Digoxin will increase calcium in heart cells, causing it to beat stronger.
Digoxin attempts to put the heart back into a normal pattern of beating.
In essence, the drug works to relax the smooth muscle.