Can chelation therapy treat heart disease?

Answer From Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, M.D.

It's unclear whether chelation therapy can treat heart disease.

Chelation therapy has long been used as a treatment for mercury and lead poisoning, but it isn't a proven treatment for heart disease. It can potentially cause serious side effects when used as a heart disease treatment. Even so, some people have received chelation therapy to treat heart disease and stroke.

Chelation therapy involves weekly treatments of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) given in a vein. Each treatment lasts from 30 minutes to up to several hours.

In general, the medicine finds and sticks to metals and minerals in the bloodstream. This action creates a substance that leaves the body in the urine. Some researchers say chelation therapy can treat heart disease because the medicine may stick to — and remove — calcium found in deposits that clog arteries.

However, chelation therapy for heart disease remains controversial.

Here's what is known so far:

  • The Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT) didn't provide enough evidence to support routine use of this treatment for heart disease. But it did find that chelation therapy offered moderate protection against future cardiovascular events, such as stroke and heart attack, in those with diabetes. Another study, TACT2, will focus specifically on people with diabetes.
  • The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology say it's uncertain whether chelation therapy is helpful as a treatment for heart disease.
  • The Food and Drug Administration hasn't approved chelation therapy for use as a heart disease treatment.

Chelation therapy for heart disease has known risks and side effects. The most common is burning at the vein site where the medicine is given. Other side effects include fever, headache, nausea or vomiting.

Rare but serious complications of chelation therapy for heart disease that have been reported include:

  • Low blood-calcium levels.
  • Sudden drop in blood pressure.
  • Drop in the number of blood cells made in bone marrow.
  • Heart failure.
  • Kidney damage.
  • Death.

Before trying chelation therapy as a heart disease treatment, talk to your health care team about the benefits and risks.

With

Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, M.D.

June 13, 2023 See more Expert Answers

See also

  1. Angina
  2. Atkins Diet
  3. Automated external defibrillators: Do you need an AED?
  4. Blood Basics
  5. Blood tests for heart disease
  6. Bradycardia
  7. Transplant advances
  8. Butter vs. margarine
  9. Calcium supplements: A risk factor for heart attack?
  10. Can vitamins help prevent a heart attack?
  11. Cardiac ablation
  12. Cardiac amyloidosis — Treatment options
  13. Cardiac amyloidosis — What is amyloid and how does it affect the heart
  14. Cardiac catheterization
  15. Cardioversion
  16. Chest X-rays
  17. Complete blood count (CBC)
  18. Coronary angiogram
  19. Coronary angioplasty and stents
  20. Coronary artery bypass surgery
  21. Coronary artery spasm: Cause for concern?
  22. Cough
  23. CT scan
  24. Daily aspirin therapy
  25. Dizziness
  26. Don't get tricked by these 3 heart-health myths
  27. Echocardiogram
  28. Ejection fraction: What does it measure?
  29. Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)
  30. Heart transplant to treat dilated cardiomyopathy: Elmo's story
  31. Erectile dysfunction: A sign of heart disease?
  32. Exercise and chronic disease
  33. Fasting diet: Can it improve my heart health?
  34. Fatigue
  35. Flu Shot Prevents Heart Attack
  36. Flu shots and heart disease
  37. Grass-fed beef
  38. Healthy Heart for Life!
  39. Heart arrhythmia
  40. Heart attack
  41. Heart attack prevention: Should I avoid secondhand smoke?
  42. Heart attack symptoms
  43. Heart Attack Timing
  44. Heart disease
  45. Heart disease in women: Understand symptoms and risk factors
  46. Heart-healthy diet: 8 steps to prevent heart disease
  47. Heart murmurs
  48. Heart transplant
  49. Herbal supplements and heart drugs
  50. Holter monitor
  51. Honey: An effective cough remedy?
  52. Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs)
  53. Leg swelling
  54. Mediterranean diet
  55. Menus for heart-healthy eating
  56. NSAIDs: Do they increase my risk of heart attack and stroke?
  57. Nuclear stress test
  58. Numbness
  59. Nuts and your heart: Eating nuts for heart health
  60. Omega-3 in fish
  61. Omega-6 fatty acids
  62. Organ transplant in highly sensitized patients
  63. Pacemaker
  64. Pericardial effusion
  65. Polypill: Does it treat heart disease?
  66. Pseudoaneurysm: What causes it?
  67. Pulmonary edema
  68. Red wine, antioxidants and resveratrol
  69. Shortness of breath
  70. Silent heart attack
  71. Sitting risks: How harmful is too much sitting?
  72. Statins
  73. Heart disease prevention
  74. Stress symptoms
  75. Stress test
  76. Tachycardia
  77. The Last Brother's Heart
  78. Integrative approaches to treating pain
  79. Nutrition and pain
  80. Pain rehabilitation
  81. Self-care approaches to treating pain
  82. Trans fat
  83. Triathlete transplant
  84. Coronary angioplasty
  85. Video: Heart and circulatory system