Hello Doc,

Chelation is a chemical process in which a substance is used to bind metals or minerals so they can be excreted from the body.

Chelation therapy is a procedure in which EDTA { Ethyline Diamaine tetra acetic acid } is injected through a saline bottle. This EDTA is a chelating agent. A chemical that binds certain metal ions, such as calcium, magnesium, lead, and iron. It is used in pathology labs to prevent blood samples from clotting and to remove calcium and lead from the body.

Though this agent is used in pathology labs to prevent clotting, when injected in blood it has high chances to lead to platelet agglutination and thrombocytopenia also.

Can Chelation therapy have adverse effects?

• Yes. The most important serious side effects are hypocalcemia (abnormally low blood calcium levels) and damage to the kidneys.
• In the TACT study, which had extensive safety monitoring, 16 percent of people receiving chelation and 15 percent of people receiving the placebo stopped their infusions because of an adverse event. Four of those events were serious; two were in the chelation group (one death) and two were in the placebo group (one death).

Does Chelation therapy improve Ischemia?

Click on the below link to read the RCT research which says that improvement post 27 weeks of 27 sittings of Chelation in IHD patients improved the ischemia time by 63 seconds only, while placebo improved by 54 seconds.

RCT to assess effect of Chelation therapy on IHD

Does Chelation therapy help in reversing blockages?

Some health professionals also suspect that EDTA may act as an antioxidant by removing metals that combine with LDL which can damage arteries. The theory is that when you remove metals that flow freely through arteries (such as copper or calcium), you may slow down diseases such as atherosclerosis. Research has not proved this theory. Some experts believe that EDTA could remove calcium from healthy bones, muscles, and other tissues, as well as from diseased arteries. If you ask about reversal of plaque by this therapy, answer is NO. Average Coronary artery calcium reduction by this therapy is about 14%.

If the patient wants to simultaneously continue Chelation therapy along with your therapy, you can allow the patient for the same.