Digoxin and beta-blockers compared for atrial fibrillation
It's the only longer-term trial of digoxin for AF despite the drug being used since 1785, authors say
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A head-to-head comparison of beta-blockers and digoxin finds they are similarly efficacious at reducing heart rate in patients with permanent atrial fibrillation (AF) and symptoms of heart failure.
But digoxin had considerably better symptom improvement, a reduction in natriuretic peptides and much lower rates of adverse events, supporting its wider use in patients with stable permanent AF, the trial investigators say.
In the RATE-AF trial, reported at the European Society of Cardiology’s virtual congress (ESC 2020), 160 patients were randomly allocated either to the beta-blocker bisoprolol or digoxin.
