EDTA or Chelation Therapy
Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, or EDTA, is a chemical that is used to treat heavy metal poisoning. This treatment is called chelation therapy and works on the principle that EDTA binds to heavy metals such as lead or mercury in your bloodstream. Once the EDTA binds to the metals, it creates a compound that is excreted from your body via urine. Chelation therapy is administered with repeated intravenous doses of EDTA solution. It has been used since the 1940s for heavy metal poisoning and is considered effective for that purpose. Other accepted uses of chelation therapy include emergency treatment of hypercalcemia and the control of irregular heart rhythms due to digitalis toxicity. It is estimated that up to a million people receive chelation every year in the United States. However, 10 percent of those receiving the therapy do so not for heavy metal poisoning but for the unapproved treatment of heart disease (University of Maryland Medical Center).
Controversial EDTA Therapies
There are medical professionals that believe that chelation therapy is also an effective treatment for atherosclerosis by way of binding with the calcium and minerals in arterial plaque and removing it from the bloodstream. Studies conducted by the National Academy of Sciences during the 1960s also suggested it could prove beneficial in this regard. However, the American Heart Association, in addition to other well-established medical and scientific groups, has spoken out against the claims that chelation therapy helps to improve atherosclerosis. These organizations maintain that there is a lack of scientific evidence supporting the therapeutic use of EDTA for the treatment of heart disease. For this reason, the FDA has not approved chelation therapy for treatment of atherosclerosis. It should also be noted that medical insurance will not reimburse for chelation therapy when administered for heart disease since it is not a recognized treatment.
According to the American Heart Association, supporters of this therapy rely on the claims of individuals who have undergone treatment with EDTA instead of clinical evidence. While the AHA doesn't question the fact that some people report improved health, they do question whether or not the improvement was due to the chelation therapy. This is because chelation therapy for atherosclerosis is always prescribed along with lifestyle changes such as improved diet, smoking cessation and regular exercise.
Benefit vs. Risk
Another reason that chelation therapy is considered controversial is because treatment comes with the risk of serious side effects. Patients have experienced kidney failure, bone marrow depression, shock, low blood pressure, convulsions, irregular heart rhythms, allergic reactions and respiratory arrest. Deaths have also been reported as a consequence of chelation therapy (The Mayo Clinic). A delay of treatment with proven methods such as drugs or surgery may also cause harm to the patient who instead opts to go with an unproven "miracle cure." When considering chelation therapy for heart disease, one must weigh the potentially life-threatening consequences against its unknown benefits.
