Chelation Therapy

Chelation is an alternative therapy that is said to have beneficial effects for heart disease patients. However, a recent study suggests otherwise.

Chelation therapy often consists of the use of an agent called EDTA, which removes lead, iron, copper, calcium and other metals from the body. As heart disease patients often display calcium build-up in their arteries, chelation therapy is based on the belief that the treatment can alleviate heart disease by removing the mineral.

78 patients took part in the study that lasted for 27 weeks. All of the patients had ischemic heart disease, which is caused by reduced blood flow to the heart. They were divided into two groups- one receiving a twice-weekly infusion of EDTA, the other a placebo, for the first 15 weeks. Thereafter, the treatment was given once a month. Multivitamins were also given during the trial. Tests were done at the start of the study and at the 15 and 27 weeks interval. The patients were tested to see how long they could last on the treadmill before experiencing reduced blood flow to the heart. They were also asked questions pertaining to their quality of life.

Throughout the 27-week study, patients on chelation therapy did not seem to experience any greater improvement on exercise testing than patients on an inactive placebo treatment. While all of the patients displayed an improvement on exercise testing, the difference between the 2 groups is however negligible. Besides, according to the report, neither group was more likely than the other to experience improvements in quality of life.

Source: JAMA January 23/30 2002;287:481-486.