Lanoxin

Lanoxin is a drug used to treat heart failure and atrial fibrillation (a type of irregular heartbeat). It is available in the form of a tablet or an injection. With the tablet form, you will likely take it once a day at the same time each day (with or without food). Commonly reported side effects of this drug include nausea, dizziness, and headache.

Lanoxin Drug Information

What Is Lanoxin?

Lanoxin^® (digoxin) is a prescription medication approved to treat the following conditions:

Heart failure, also called congestive heart failure (CHF)
Atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heartbeat, or heart arrhythmia.

Lanoxin belongs to a group of medicines called cardiac glycosides. Cardiac glycosides are also known as digitalis, because they are extracted from the digitalis plant, a plant more commonly known as foxglove.

Lanoxin is available as a tablet and in an injectable form. There are two injectable Lanoxin products: Lanoxin injection and Lanoxin pediatric injection.

(Click Lanoxin Uses for more information on this topic, including possible off-label uses.)

Who Makes This Medication?

Lanoxin tablets and Lanoxin pediatric injection are made by DSM Pharmaceuticals, Inc., for GlaxoSmithKline. Lanoxin injection is made by Draxis Pharma, Inc., for GlaxoSmithKline.

How Does Lanoxin Work?

Lanoxin works by blocking sodium-potassium ATPase, an enzyme in the body that controls the amount of sodium and potassium that enters cells.

Blocking sodium-potassium ATPase leads to an increase in the amount of calcium and potassium inside heart cells. This helps the heart contract more forcefully with each heartbeat so that it is more efficient at pumping blood throughout the body. It also slows down the rate at which the heart beats.

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