Digoxin
- Also Known As:
- Serum Digoxin Level
- Formal Name:
- Digoxin
- serum

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.At a Glance
Why Get Tested?
To determine if the concentration of digoxin in your blood is at a therapeutic level or to detect toxic levels of the drug in your blood
When To Get Tested?
After the start of digoxin therapy and at regular intervals to ensure that drug levels are within therapeutic range (not too low or too high as to be toxic)
Sample Required?
A blood sample drawn by a needle from a vein
Test Preparation Needed?
No special preparation is needed, but timing of sample collection is important, and you may be instructed to have your blood drawn a specific number of hours after your last dose of digoxin, typically 6-8 hours. When having your blood drawn, tell the person collecting your blood sample when you took your last dose of digoxin.
What is being tested?
Digoxin is a drug used to treat heart failure and abnormal heart rhythms. Heart failure, including congestive heart failure (CHF), causes the heart to become less effective at circulating blood. As a result, blood backs up into the legs, hands, feet, lungs and liver, causing swelling, shortness of breath, and fatigue. This test measures the amount of digoxin in the blood.
Digoxin is prescribed to relieve some symptoms of heart failure. It strengthens the contractions of the heart and helps it to pump blood more efficiently. Digoxin also helps control the heart rate and abnormal heart rhythms known as arrhythmias. It will not cure heart failure or arrhythmias, which are long-term (chronic) conditions, but can help to manage the symptoms along with diet, exercise, and other medications.
Digoxin levels must be monitored because the drug has a narrow safety range. If the level in the blood is too low, symptoms may recur. If the level is too high, toxicity may occur. Digoxin dosage may be adjusted based on levels measured.
Common Questions
View Sources
Sources Used in Current Review
2020 review performed by Morgan E. Pacini, MS, Technical/General Supervisor, LSA Toxicology Laboratory.
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