Digitek Heart Med: Under the Eye of the Watchdog

In April 2008, a heart medication called Digitek was recalled by Actavis Towtowa due to a manufacturing defect. The tablets were found to be double their intended thickness. The result of this technical error was that patients were exposed to serious, even fatal amounts of the main ingredient called as digitalis.

Digitalis has been in use for decades for helping to deal with heart problems. It basically strengthens the heartbeat, but digitalis can be fatal if taken in excess. Patients who consumed Digitek, and suffer from renal failure, run the greatest risk of digitalis toxicity. The symptoms include cardiac instability, bradycardia, decreased consciousness, vomiting, and diarrhea. If the patient isn't treated immediately, then the toxicity could prove to be fatal. The drug was also found to be unsuitable for pregnant women, nursing mothers, and people with thyroid complaints.

Given the serious implications of this defect, the FDA classified the product recall as a Class 1, meaning that taking the drug could have serious or fatal consequences. The company has taken steps to ensure that physicians and pharmacists do not prescribe the drug any longer and those that still have Digitek in stock have been asked to return it.

But it could already be too late as many patients have already died as a result of taking this heart medication which prompted the US Drug Watchdog to launch a national investigation. Actavis Towtowa currently faces nine federal lawsuits in New Jersey because of the problems with Digitek drug.