What should be assessed before administering Digoxin?

Before administering Digoxin, assessing the apical pulse is crucial because Digoxin is a cardiac glycoside that directly affects the heart's contractility and rate. It is essential to ensure that the heart rate is within a safe range before administering the medication. Typically, healthcare providers are advised to check the apical pulse for a full minute, and if the pulse rate is below a certain threshold—often 60 beats per minute for adults—the medication should be held and the healthcare provider should be notified. This precaution helps prevent potential complications such as bradycardia and other arrhythmias, which can be exacerbated by Digoxin.

In addition to apical pulse assessment, monitoring other parameters such as blood pressure and heart rhythm is important, but these assessments do not specifically dictate whether Digoxin can be administered as directly as the apical pulse does. Checking the respiratory rate also provides valuable information regarding a patient’s overall condition, particularly for patients with heart failure, yet it is not a primary assessment required before Digoxin administration.