EDTA Chelation Therapy was first used during World War II as a poison gas antidote.  Later it was used in the USA starting in 1948 as a treatment for industrial workers to remove lead.  It has since remained as the approved and undisputed treatment of choice for lead poisoning.  However, doctors began noticing that patients being treated for lead poisoning had the good fortune of also enjoying improvements in well- being, and particularly they noticed a decrease in symptoms related to heart and circulatory disease.

Chelation comes from the Greek word “Chele” which means a claw of a crab or lobster.  Chelation is the pincer-like action of a molecule as it surrounds a metal ion like a claw.  Once chelated or surrounded in this way the metals are removed from the body via the urine.
The protocol for chelation involves intravenous infusions which last 1.5-3 hours per treatment depending on individual needs.  10-30 treatments are required initially at 1-2 per week, then 10 per year as maintenance and prevention.  Extensive blood and urine testing is required prior to treatment and intermittently during treatment to ensure adequate kidney, liver, and heart functioning.  Often vascular studies and ECG’s may be done ahead of treatment to determine the diagnosis and extent of the disease.

Complete blood screening for organ functioning, iron levels, blood cell analysis, toxic metal analysis, and urine analysis is completed ahead of time.  During treatment urinalysis, may be completed intermittently and kidney function is tested every 10 treatments.  Any vascular studies which are available will be examined.  Arterial stiffness studies may be completed in-office prior to starting the treatments.  This helps to define what the diagnosis is, how severe it is, and helps to monitor progress.

Two other chelating agents are often used to augment the use of EDTA.  They are DMPS and DMSA.  DMPS is an intravenous agent which has high affinity for mercury and is the primary agent used in mercury detoxification.  DMSA is an oral agent which also detoxifies Mercury well.  It works in conjunction with EDTA to remove tissue lead (EDTA is better at removing bone lead and DMSA is better at removing tissue lead, so they can work well together).