Digoxin deirived from digitalis purpurea the common foxglove will be familiar to many heart failure patients.
It helps slow-down the heart rate and makes the heart pump that bit better.    For those with an irregular heartbeat (atrial fibrillation; AF), digoxin helps to steady the beat.

Scientists have recently gone back and re-examined digitalis to see what else it might be capeable of.

In a new article published in Molecular Pharmacology, researchers at the University of Michigan have found that digoxin can enhance the body's own protective mechanism against heart failure.

Recent studies have found that the body has the ability to keep excess stimulation in check through production of a family of inhibitors called RGS proteins.    Researchers looked into this protective mechanism which is lost among some individuals with heart failure.
Low dose of digoxin was found to increase RGS levels in the heart, suggesting new uses for low dose digoxin in heart failure patients.

Source:  Molecular Pharmacology        ;        News Medical