Diagnosis and Treatment of Digitalis Toxicity

THE ascendancy of digitalis intoxication in recent years has made this problem and its recognition an ever important clinical consideration in every patient receiving the drug. Much of this increase is due to increased awareness of the clinical entity, increased longevity of the population in general (particularly added numbers of elderly people with cardiovascular disease), use of newer preparations and changing patterns in digitalis administration and newer forms of treatment, such as effective diuretic and dietary therapy, which have added factors of importance tending to precipitate or permit subtle evolution of toxicity. Estimates disclose that of those taking digitalis toxicity . . .