Calcium channel blockers and beta-blockers are two of the most popular classes of heart drugs on the market. But if you suffer from atrial fibrillation, there is a drug that is been around for decades that is far better than either of these new types of drugs.
Atrial fibrillation is a condition in which your heart pumps up to 300 impulses per minute. Obviously, your heart cant tolerate this even for a few seconds. Your heart has built-in mechanisms to filter out about half of those impulses. However, that still leaves you with a heart rate of 120 or even higher. Your heart would soon wear out. This is one condition where drug therapy to slow your heart is a lifesaver.
In medical school, I was taught to use digitalis (digoxin), a very inexpensive drug derived from the foxglove plant. It slows electrical impulses through your hearts conduction system. With it, less of those rapid impulses get through. It made great sense to use it — and still does.
However, digoxin fell out of favor when it is patent ran out. Big Pharma cant make much money on a drug that is in the public domain. So the drug companies pushed other classes of drugs on doctors, who then push them on you. Among them are calcium channel blockers and beta-blockers. The latter are quite effective at lowering heart rate. However, they also lower the work performance of your heart. So you might get fatigued much easier. They also can have disastrous effects on a mans sexual performance.
I still use the inexpensive digitalis extracts with excellent results. And I often butt heads with cardiologists who push the new drugs.
Now, a new study shows that digitalis is the way to treat atrial fibrillation. Brian Olshansky, MD analyzed data from a landmark atrial fibrillation study. The study followed 2,027 patients for rate-control effectiveness. He reported that digoxin was as effective in controlling heart rate during exercise as beta-blockers.
Olshansky said, We have all been taught that digoxin has little effect on atrial fibrillation, but that rate control did occur. I was told the very same thing in medical school over 30 years ago. So I wonder who or what has been telling todays professional cardiologists that it does not work. Could it be, perhaps, drug company reps?
Not only does digitalis help atrial fibrillation as effectively as the newer drugs, it has almost no side effects if used properly, and it is much, much cheaper. If you have atrial fibrillation, take this information to your doctor. He should screen you for good kidney function first. And you need to make sure you get plenty of potassium in your diet from plant sources. I always check both of these. And in my 30+ years of practice, I’ve never seen a problem in anyone who has properly taken digoxin continuously for many years. Its one of the few heart drugs I commonly recommend.
Ref: Family Practice News, September 15, 2005.