Dr. Michael Schachter oversees
58-year-old Oliver Johnson’s
chelation session.
October 2004 | Whole Health
Chelation Therapy Gets to Prove Itself
A Long Disputed Approach to Blocked Arteries Undergoes an NIH Study
by Michael B. Schachter, M.D
Dr. Michael Schachter, a board certified psychiatrist based in New York state, is a recognized leader in nutritional medicine, chelation therapy and alternative cancer therapies.
As former President Bill Clinton underwent heart bypass surgery in September, I couldn’t help but envision a different—and far less risky and invasive—alternative treatment for his severely blocked arteries: chelation therapy. Still considered an “unproven treatment,” I nevertheless have gotten excellent results in many vascular patients from chelation therapy over the 30 years I’ve been administering it. Our clinic alone has treated at least 3,000 vascular disease patients and many of them were ready to sign-up for bypass surgery because of vascular disease symptoms such as angina (chest pain), shortness of breath or painful walking. Yet once they began chelation, many of them experienced significant improvement in their symptoms and over-all health, sometimes after only a few treatments, but more often after a longer series of 15 or more.
Hundreds of my colleagues practicing chelation in North America, who have track records of responsible and successful patient care, offer chelation because they consider it a safe and effective therapy. Yet, established practitioners who administer chelation continue to be considered mavericks by the conventional medical community. But this may soon change.
This much-maligned treatment and the integrative medical doctors who practice it are finally getting the opportunity to have conventional medicine put its stamp of approval on chelation as a treatment for vascular disease, specifically of the coronary (heart) arteries. The complementary and alternative medicine branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has launched a rigorous five-year study that will eventually involve more than 2,300 patient-participants at some 120 chelation research sites, including our Suffern, N.Y., chelation center (see sidebar).
Vascular disease, otherwise known as blocked arteries, leads to heart attacks, strokes and other blood clot problems. Heart disease, the most notorious form of blocked arteries and the problem that former President Clinton faced, is the leading cause of death in the U.S. Today, the primary conventional therapy for it is either drug therapy with its attendant troubling side effects (for example, see August ‘04 article: “Statins: The Memory Thieves”), and/or surgery with heart bypasses being the most prevalent. They are the most common surgery in America with a price tag of about $60,000 per operation. While it is actually quite a remarkable procedure, the average bypass mortality rate is three percent and reocclusion (or reclogging) of the new arteries is a common problem. Additionally, concern has been raised over many patients experiencing some mental impairment when checked five years after bypass surgery. Another common complication is atrial fibrillation, which is a type of irregular heartbeat that puts people at risk for stroke.
In view of these troubling drawbacks, chelation is believed by many proponents to be a remarkably safe, effective and relatively inexpensive (about $100-$125 per treatment) alternative to surgeries and medication (though it may also be used together with these treatments for better results). Yet, it has largely been ignored and even shunned by the vast majority of conventional physicians and major medical organizations such as the American Medical Association, along with the government agencies — the Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission. In fact, doctors practicing chelation therapy have been reprimanded by medical boards to this day with disciplinary actions ranging from multi-thousand dollar fines to suspension or revocation of their medical licenses.
Despite the NIH study, harassment of practitioners continues in certain areas. My colleague, Allan Magaziner, D.O., president of the American College for Advancement in Medicine (ACAM), a medical organization representing some 800 integrative medical doctors, points out that in his home state of New Jersey: “Six months after the study was approved [in 2002], the state medical board tried to ban chelation therapy for vascular disease. Fortunately, patients and practitioners were able to prevent this once the Board was given sufficient information.” Despite this continued harassment, he believes the NIH study, to be completed in 2008, is giving practitioners some “leverage and defense” in their use of chelation therapy.
Chelation: Clawing Back to Health
The word “chelation” is derived from the Greek word “chele,” which means “to claw” and refers to a chemical compound grabbing onto a mineral in a firm, claw-like way, causing the body to excrete it in the urine. This chelation activity leads to an improvement in circulation through a variety of biological processes that are, as yet, not completely understood. Chelation involves the use of EDTA (ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid), a synthetic amino acid administered through the veins, usually over a three- to four-hour period, in an outpatient setting. The number of treatments varies but on average, a patient is given EDTA chelation one or two times a week for 20 to 30 treatments. While this would cost around $2,000 to $4,000 (compared to $60,000 for bypass surgery), health insurance usually doesn’t cover it and the patient has to pay out of pocket.
Chelation — like other healing approaches, by itself is not a cure-all for any disease. We must keep in mind that just like surgery and drugs, chelation therapy doesn’t treat the cause. That’s why it’s usually the centerpiece of a full-treatment program involving dietary changes, nutritional supplements, an exercise program and stress management.
EDTA chelation therapy was first used around 1950 to treat workers suffering from lead poisoning. A Detroit physician, Dr. Norman Clarke, was aware that EDTA could also chelate calcium and reasoned that it could be used to treat vascular dis- ease by removing arterial calcium. Subsequently, other clinicians have conducted numerous studies and confirmed Clarke’s results. However, since these studies were not randomized, double blind and placebo- controlled (the gold standard for acceptance by Western medicine), the FDA has not yet approved the use of EDTA chelation therapy for cardiovascular disorders.
Personally, members of my family and I have received chelation therapy and have benefited considerably (chelation can be used for other health issues but that discussion is beyond the scope of this article). It’s interesting to note that virtually all chelating physicians have either taken the treatment themselves or recommended it for their families. EDTA chelation therapy is one of the most gratifying procedures in my office because most of the patients improve. In light of this, I expect the NIH study will get positive results, assuming that the study is done properly.
Michael B. Schachter, M.D. and Certified Nutrition Specialist, is co-author of Food, Mind and Mood, a major contributor to Alternative Medicine’s Definitive Guide to Cancer and the author of several articles on chelation therapy that can be accessed at: www.schachtercenter.com.
This material is for information only and no part of its content should be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, recommendation or endorsement.
![[Send]](http://consciouschoice.com/sendlink/send.gif){kind=small}
Recommend this page to a friend
Top Ten pages recommended to friends:
