Pre-operative procedures mean that there are several things needed to be taken care of or to be done before the patient goes under the scalpel. And, since cardiac surgery is a very complex and risky operation, it is important to take care of several pre-operative procedures first like asking them to discontinue medicine. Example of this is a medication known as Digoxin.

However, you may ask why Digoxin should be discontinued prior to a cardiac surgery. The reason for this is to make sure that there will be no further occurrence of Digoxin toxicity in the body. Digoxin toxicity means that more amount of this medicine is being consumed either at a fast rate (acutely) or chronically.

However, you should not stop taking the medication abruptly. The doctor should make sure that the ventricular rate of the heart is within normal limits or over 80, and granting that there is no occurrence of toxicity. If this scenario is clear, then Digoxin may be discontinued without 23 to 48 hours prior to operation. The consequence when this procedure is not followed is the possible occurrence of pulsus bigeminus after the operation. Pulsus bigeminus is a phenomenon in the heart where it shows two heartbeats that are close to each other then followed by a longer pause. This is because Digoxin toxicity causes premature contractions.

In order to prevent other post-operative complications, doctors make an effort to stabilize every blood component or level in the body. In this way, they will be able to save the patient, and not to put them in risky and fatal situations.

More Articles :

• Drug Interactions Between Digoxin And Azithromycin
• Effects Of Stopping Digoxin
• What Is Digoxin Used For ?
• Why Should Digoxin Be Stopped Prior To Cardiac Surgery ?