<unk> s have long served as the main medical treatment to congestive heart failure and<unk>  arrhythmia, due to their effects of increasing the force of muscle contraction while reducing heart rate. Heart failure is characterized by an inability to pump enough blood to support the body, possibly due to a decrease in the volume of the blood or its contractile force. Treatments for the condition thus focus on lowering blood pressure, so that the heart does not have to exert as much force to pump the blood, or directly increasing the heart's contractile force, so that the heart can overcome the higher blood pressure.<unk> s, such as the commonly used digoxin and digitoxin, deal with the latter, due to their positive inotropic activity. On the other hand,<unk>  arrhythmia are changes in heart rate, whether faster (tachycardia) or slower (bradycardia). Medicinal treatments for this condition work primarily to counteract tachycardia or atrial fibrillation by slowing down heart rate, as done by<unk> s. Nevertheless, due to questions of toxicity and dosage,<unk> s have been replaced with synthetic drugs such as ACE inhibitors and beta blockers and are no longer used as the primary medical treatment for such conditions. Depending on the severity of the condition, though, they may still be used in conjunction with other treatments.
Cardiac glycoside
Phytosteroid
Insulin analog
Glucocorticoid
Steroid ester
Eoxin
Clofibride
Xenohormone