PlainMeds provides educational information only. This is not medical advice. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist.

digoxin vs spironolactone (acne)

Side-by-side comparison of digoxin and spironolactone (acne). Data from FDA drug databases (Orange Book, NDC Directory, recalls, shortages) covering 20,000+ approved drugs, plus CMS pricing; see our methodology.

minor Known Drug Interaction

• Digoxin: ALDACTONE can interfere with radioimmunologic assays of digoxin exposure ( 7.4 ). 7.4 Digoxin Spironolactone and its metabolites interfere with radioimmunoassays for digoxin and increase the apparent exposure to digoxin. It is unknown to what extent, if any, spironolactone may increase actual digoxin exposure.

Recommendation: Your doctor may need to adjust how they monitor your digoxin levels to get an accurate reading.

Drug Class
digoxin Cardiac Glycoside
spironolactone (acne) Anti-Androgen
Type
digoxin Prescription
spironolactone (acne) Prescription
Summary
digoxin

Digoxin (Lanoxin) is a medicine that helps your heart pump better. It is used to treat heart failure and control irregular heartbeats.

spironolactone (acne)

Spironolactone (Aldactone) is a medicine that helps remove extra fluid from your body and lower blood pressure. It belongs to a class of drugs called anti-androgens.

What It Treats
digoxin

Digoxin is used to treat mild to moderate heart failure in adults. It helps the heart pump more blood with each beat. Digoxin is also used in children with heart failure to help their heart work better. In adults, it can control a fast and irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation.

spironolactone (acne)

Spironolactone can treat heart failure by helping you live longer, managing swelling, and reducing hospital visits. It also treats high blood pressure, which lowers the risk of strokes and heart attacks. This medicine can also manage swelling caused by liver problems or a kidney problem called nephrotic syndrome when other treatments don't work well enough. It can also treat primary hyperaldosteronism, a condition where your body makes too much aldosterone.

How It Works
digoxin

Digoxin belongs to a class of drugs called cardiac glycosides. It works by making the heart muscle contract more strongly. It also slows down the electrical signals in the heart, which can help control irregular heartbeats.

spironolactone (acne)

Spironolactone blocks a hormone called aldosterone in your body. Aldosterone causes your body to hold onto sodium and water. By blocking aldosterone, spironolactone helps your body get rid of extra fluid and lower blood pressure.

Common Side Effects
digoxin
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Diarrhea
  • Dizziness
  • Headache
spironolactone (acne)
  • Breast enlargement in men
  • Changes in periods
  • Decreased sex drive
  • Dizziness
  • Headache
FAERS Reports
digoxin
  • Shortness of breath 6,062
  • Feeling sick to your stomach 4,747
  • Feeling lightheaded or unsteady 4,442
  • Feeling very tired 4,174
  • Irregular heartbeat 3,972
spironolactone (acne)

No adverse event reports.

Serious Warnings
digoxin

Digoxin can cause serious side effects, including dangerous heart rhythms. You are at higher risk if you have certain heart conditions or kidney problems. Tell your doctor right away if you have nausea, vomiting, vision changes, or an irregular heartbeat.

spironolactone (acne)

Spironolactone can cause high potassium levels in your blood. Your doctor will check your potassium levels regularly, especially if you have kidney problems or take other medicines that can raise potassium. This medicine can also cause low blood pressure or make kidney problems worse. Tell your doctor if you have liver problems, as this medicine can cause problems with brain function.

Pregnancy
digoxin

It is not known if digoxin can harm an unborn baby. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. The medicine passes into breast milk, but it is unlikely to harm the baby.

spironolactone (acne)

Spironolactone may affect the sex organs of a baby boy if taken during pregnancy. Talk to your doctor about the risks if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if spironolactone passes into breast milk, so talk to your doctor about breastfeeding while taking this medicine.

How to Read This digoxin vs spironolactone (acne) Comparison

digoxin is classified in the Cardiac Glycoside drug class, while spironolactone (acne) sits within the Anti-Androgen class. Drugs from different classes work through distinct mechanisms, so a head-to-head comparison illustrates trade-offs rather than equivalence. Both drugs are prescription-only, so a licensed provider must authorize use.

Adverse event totals above are pulled from the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). For these top-ranked reactions alone, digoxin has 23,397 submissions while spironolactone (acne) has 0. Those figures reflect cumulative reporting volume, not per-patient risk, so older, widely dispensed drugs typically look worse on count alone. These two drugs have a known minor interaction flagged in FDA labeling, attributed to this drug can interfere with the lab tests used to measure digoxin, making it look like there is more medicine in your blood than there actually is.. Serious warnings, pregnancy guidance, and contraindications can differ even when indications overlap.

A table cannot substitute for clinical judgment. Effectiveness, tolerability, drug-drug interactions with your other medications, kidney and liver function, pregnancy status, insurance formulary, and price all feed into a decision that only a licensed prescriber can make responsibly. Data here is sourced from FDA Structured Product Labels (SPL) and FAERS, both of which update as manufacturers and clinicians submit new information. This page is for educational purposes only, is not medical advice, and should not be used to self-switch between digoxin and spironolactone (acne) - always consult your physician or pharmacist first.

Important: This comparison is for informational purposes only. Drug effects vary between individuals. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist for personalized medical advice.