From pariah to acceptance

THE use of chelation for the treatment of heart disease had been considered as bordering on quackery. Chelation started about a century ago, when it was used to treat metal poisoning, by administering a drug ("chelator") which binds to the metal or minerals and this bound metal-EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) complex is then expelled from the body by the kidney. Chelation has been scientifically proven to remove excess or toxic metals from the body.

Currently, the only "officially" approved use of chelation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the administration of the chelator, calcium EDTA, for use in lead poisoning and other heavy metal poisoning, to remove the heavy metals before they damage the body.

For more than half a century, a similar agent, disodium EDTA, has been infused into patients by practitioners of alternative medicine to treat heart disease with reportedly good outcomes in case reports. However, in the early days when the dosage and administration of these agents were varied, complications including kidney problems arose resulting in the disparaging of chelation by mainstream medical organisations.