Digitalis has long been used in folk medicine as cordial. In Russia, it began to grow as a medicinal plant since 1730. The introduction of digitalis drugs in scientific medicine associated with the writings of English physician Uayteringa, published in 1775. Since then, the treatment of heart failure, digitalis preparations necessarily apply.
What is the foxglove
Digitalis - a genus of perennial herbaceous plants of the family figwort, including up to 36 species, of which 7 grows in our country. As a source of medicinal raw materials used mainly 5 types of foxglove - purple, grandiflora, woolly, rusty and ciliates.
Purple Foxglove - large biennial herb up to 120 cm with a brittle, wrinkled leaves oblong-ovate up to 30 cm long. The smell of dried leaves is weak, but it is enhanced by insisting in hot water. The flowers are 3-4 cm long, horizontal deflection, bell-shaped calyx, corolla shaped like a thimble. Fruit - egg-shaped capsule with two valves. The seeds are very small, numerous, brown, wrinkled. Flowers in June - July. In the wild in our country it is not found, cultivated in different territories.
Digitalis woolly - a perennial herb. It differs from foxglove purple, smaller leaves and flowers, shape and color of the corolla, densely pubescent presence in the inflorescences. In the wild foxglove is rare, therefore listed as endangered rare plants to be protected.
The chemical composition of digitalis
Active substances are digitalis cardiac glycosides - complex compounds such as esters containing in its structure and glycoprivous carbohydrate components. Last called aglycone or Genin. For the cardiac glycosides digitalis characterized by the following 5 types of Genin: digitoksigenin, gitoksigenin, gitaloksigenin, digoxigenin and diginatigenin.
Depending on the structure of the carbohydrate component or distinguish primary genuinnye glycosides (purpureaglikozidy A and B digilanidy A, B, C and others) and secondary produced by enzymatic cleavage of specific carbohydrate residues. Thus, upon cleavage of the terminal glucose
Glucose: The energy source
And the image of purpureaglikozida digitoxin.
The action of digitalis drugs on the human body
Digitalis preparations have a specific effect on the heart muscle (myocardium). They increase the strength of heart contractions, reduce their frequency and lengthen diastole (diastole - the relaxation of the heart muscle, occurring after its contraction or systole).
Therapeutic effect of digitalis preparations with circulatory failure is reduced to a more complete emptying of the ventricular systolic, increased blood volume ejected (cardiac output), a decrease of tachycardia (heart palpitations). This reduces size of the heart, the blood circulation time decreases, decreases the volume of blood in the blood stream, which in turn helps to reduce edema. Blood pressure rises by several vasoconstrictor effect.
If ingestion of digitalis glycosides are absorbed adequately, but their effect develops only after a period of time that, as the duration of action of drugs, different individual glycosides. Due to slow excretion of digitalis glycosides are capable of accumulation (accumulation in the body) that is most pronounced in digitoksina least of all - have digoxin.
The use of digitalis preparations medicine
Digitalis drugs used to treat heart failure
Heart failure - when the heart is unable to cope with the work
different backgrounds, some forms of atrial fibrillation
Arrhythmia - when we hear your heart
As well as for the prevention of heart failure in patients with organic (the restructuring) lesions of the heart. In the first few days are appointed by the highest dose (cumulative effect is created), and then move on to maintenance dose that is prescribed for a long time. Titration of cardiac glycosides for a particular patient occurs individually, taking into account all the characteristics of a particular patient.
In the treatment of the toxic effects of digitalis may be manifested by various disturbances of cardiac rhythm disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, the cardiovascular and central nervous system, the part of eye, skin, blood, endocrine organs, so the treatment of cardiac glycosides may be carried out only by the doctor. If signs of intoxication drug digitalis should be immediately stop taking.
Contraindications to the use of digitalis preparations are bradycardia
Bradycardia - when the heart stops
(very slow heart rate), and cardiac conduction disturbances (heart block).
Cooking digitalis preparations at home and take them without a doctor's prescription is very dangerous.
Galina Romanenko
