Chelation Therapy
Chelation therapy is a series of intravenous infusions that are given in the office.
Each intravenous session lasts about 3 hours.
The number of treatments to achieve optimal therapeutic benefit for a patient with
symptomatic disease is twenty (20) treatments over a period of several weeks.
Ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) is the primary therapeutic agent used in the
IV solution. Various vitamins and minerals are also added.
EDTA is a man-made amino acid first synthesized in Germany in the 1930's. It was first
used in the 1940's to treat heavy metal poisoning.
How does chelation therapy work?
EDTA binds with ions in the blood to form a stable ring structure, creating a compound
that can be excreted in the urine.
EDTA reduces heavy or toxic metals in the body cells. It has an affinity for heavy
metals like Lead, Mercury, and Cadmium, which can impair enzyme reactions and block
metabolic pathways causing chronic degenerative diseases.
The exact mechanism of action by which EDTA improves blood flow has not been determined
but it likely works in several ways.
EDTA favors heavy metals and then binds with unbound Calcium in the blood.
Since each EDTA treatment removes some Calcium from the blood the Parathyroid gland
needs to replace it. It does so by taking Calcium from soft tissue, bone and metastatic (unwanted) Calcium
deposits in the tissues.
When a plaque seems to disappear from a blood vessel, it would be like ice dissolving
in a glass of water, one molecule at a time.
Because of its affect on the parathyroid gland chelation therapy can also increase
the deposit of Calcium into bone causing, over time, an increase in bone density.
EDTA also benefits health because it is a powerful antioxidant, a substance that combats
free radicals.
EDTA is rapidly eliminated from the body through the kidneys. Fifty percent (50%)
of the bound Calcium leaves the body through the kidneys within the first 2 hours.
Ninety-five percent (95%) is excreted in the urine within the first twenty- four (24)
hours.
Has EDTA chelation therapy been proven to be effective?
Hundreds of thousands of patients have had literally millions of EDTA chelation treatments
in the past three dozen years.
The American Heart Association and other medical and scientific groups have spoken
out against this form of treatment.
Although EDTA chelation therapy is said not to be proven to improve conditions, doctors
administering chelation therapy have noted improvement of various conditions.
Clinical studies performed by Physicians actually performing EDTA Chelation Therapy
have documented positive benefits from using EDTA in the treatment of the following
disease processes:
- Arterio/Atherosclerosis
- Coronary Artery Disease, Carotid Artery Disease
- Cerebral Vascular Disease (Strokes, Transient Ischemic Attacks (TIA's), Alzheimers, etc.)
- Peripheral Vascular Disease (Claudication, Pre-Gangrene)
- Certain Cardiac Arrhythmias
- Autoimmune Disease (Scleroderma, Multiple Sclerosis, RH, SLE)
- Collagen Vascular Disease like Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythermatosus
- Diabetes Mellitus, both Type I and Type II
- Heavy Metal Toxicity (Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, Arsenic, etc.)
- Hyperthyroidism, Hypothyroidism
- Hypercalcemic States
- Osteoarthritis, Osteoporosis
- Venous Stasis Disorders
- Peripheral Neuropathy
- Fibromyalgia
As with many medical treatments, including bypass surgery, scientific studies on chelation
therapy are continuing - as are the debates among medical professionals on the relative
merits of different approaches to the treatment of vascular diseases. While the use
of chelation therapy has been controversial, there is also controversy about how much
of the bypass surgery that is being done is really necessary. Because it has a favorable
safety and side effect profile and does not preclude the concurrent or subsequent
use of other treatments, chelation therapy is worthy of consideration by those suffering
from vascular disease.
What is arteriosclerosis?
Vascular, or blood vessel disease is a leading cause of death. When blood vessels
become blocked by plaque, blood flow to vital organs is reduced, starving them for
oxygen and other nutrients. The loss of circulation caused by this "hardening of the
arteries" -also known as atherosclerosis or arteriosclerosis - can lead to heart disease,
stroke, and memory loss. It can also prevent sores from healing and lead to gangrene
in feet and legs.
Atherosclerosis, or "hardening of the arteries" occurs when the inner walls of the
arteries become lined with atherosclerotic plaques, i.e. deposits of fat, cholesterol,
fibrin, cellular waste products and calcium. This happens gradually over many years.
As this buildup in the inner walls of the arteries increases, the arteries become
hard and constricted. When this happens, the arteries lose their elasticity - their
ability to expand and contract as the blood flows through them - and they become narrower.
And as they narrow, it's harder for blood to flow through them. The heart has to work
harder to pump throughout the body. If the buildup continues, an artery can become
completely blocked, resulting in a heart attack (in the case of a coronary artery),
or a stroke (in the case of an artery leading to the brain).
Complications of blocked blood vessels are usually not clinically noticeable until
the vessel is 75% occluded!
Better Health, Naturally
Excessive deposition of Calcium in the wrong places in the body is set off by biochemical
lesions, excessive free radical activity and other pathological processes. These processes
can be triggered in part by poor lifestyle choices, genetics and environmental events
beyond ones control.
These processes are reversed by a comprehensive naturopathic medical approach: improving
lifestyle choices (diet, nutrition, exercise, stress management), homeopathic medicine,
botanical medicine, and EDTA chelation therapy.
Physicians who offer EDTA Chelation Therapy
Intravenous have found it to be very beneficial for the treatment of patients with
and a myriad of other degenerative disease processes such as angina pectoris, myocardial
infarction, cerebrovascular accidents (strokes), hypertension (high blood pressure),
severe peripheral vascular (blood vessel) disease and arthritis.
Individual response to the EDTA Chelation
Therapy program is not totally dependent upon the administration of the EDTA intravenous
solution, but to an individualized naturopathic treatment program which combines the
intravenous treatment with dietary considerations, Vitamin/Mineral supplementation,
homeopathy, herbal medicine, stress reduction, a physical exercise program and other
lifestyle modifications designed specifically for the individual.
The optimal number of intravenous treatments
for any given patient is based on the findings on the initial diagnostic evaluation,
and the patient's presenting medical condition. Usually a basic course of therapy
would include a total of twenty (20) to thirty (30) EDTA Chelation treatments.
In order to attain optimum benefits from
the EDTA Chelation Therapy program, we strongly advocate STRICT adherence to ALL recommendations
made during the results of your consultation with Dr. Miller. These recommendations
are individualized according to the results of the diagnostic evaluations and your
medical history.