title: Effect of digoxin on the electrocardiogram at rest and during exercise in healthy subjects.
abstract: The effect of digoxin on the electrocardiogram at rest and during and after exercise was studied in 11 healthy subjects. Exercise was performed on a heart rate-controlled bicycle ergometer with stepwise increased loads up to a heart rate of 170 beats/min. The subjects were studied after peroral intake of digoxin at 2 dose levels and after withdrawal of digoxin. Administration of digoxin induced significant ST-T depression at rest and during exercise even at the small dose (2.4 +/- 0.8 microgram/kg body weight, mean +/- standard deviation). The ST-T changes were numerically small and dose-dependent. The most pronounced ST and T depression occurred at a heart rate of 110 to 130 beats/min. At higher heart rates the ST depression was less pronounced but still statistically significant. During the first minutes after exercise no significant digitalis-induced ST-T depression was seen. This reaction is not of the type usually seen in myocardial ischemia. Fourteen days after withdrawal of the drug there were no significant digitalis-induced ST-T changes at rest or during or after exercise.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D004077:Digoxin / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000187:drug effects*; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D005082:Physical Exertion
chemical_list: D004077:Digoxin