Chelation Therapy
Chelation therapy (pronounced key-LAY-shun) is a process in which a synthetic or man-made amino acid called EDTA (ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid) is delivered intravenously. EDTA binds with molecules, such as metals or minerals, and holds them tightly so that they can be removed from the body. We offer IV Chelation therapy for numerous conditions, including removal of heavy metals and for treatment of heart disease.
Our medical director, Scott Rollins, MD, and our Chelation Coordinator, Amber Rainey, BSN, are both Certified in Chelation Therapy by the American College for the Advancement of Medicine (ACAM). This certification is widely regarded as the "gold standard" in assuring safe and effective chelation therapy.
Chelation Therapy Study
We are also a study site for the TACT study. This study is 20 times larger than previous studies and is designed to find out if chelation therapy and/or high-dose vitamin therapy is a safe and effective treatment option for people with heart disease.
If you are age 50 or older and have had a heart attack, you might be eligible to take part in a government study testing the effectiveness and safety of chelation therapy, an investigational treatment for people with heart disease. The study, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, is the largest of its kind. Almost 2,000 people at more than 100 medical institutions across the country will take part in the study.
“It is important for people with heart disease to know whether chelation therapy should be added to the list of proven treatments for heart disease,” said Gervasio A. Lamas, M.D., principal investigator of the study and director of cardiovascular research and academic affairs at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Florida. “This study will help us definitively answer that critical question.”
Study researchers are now recruiting patients. They are looking for men and women age 50 and older who have had a heart attack. Those who participate will join a nationwide effort to learn whether chelation therapy works, helping the medical community find new and effective treatments for heart disease.
There is no cost to participate in the study and participants will be closely monitored to ensure they receive the optimal standard of care for their heart disease, such as vitamin supplements and advice on lifestyle and diet. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive: either chelation therapy or placebo (saline) solution and either high-dose vitamin therapy or placebo pills. All participants will also receive low-dose vitamins.
The study is co-funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, both part of the NIH, the government’s lead agency for medical research.
More information about the study is available at the NCCAM Web site at www.nccam.nih.gov/chelation or by calling 1-888-644-6226.
“I don’t want to leave any stone unturned as we look for ways to address heart disease,” said Dr. Lamas. “And I don’t think patients living with heart disease want us to either.”
To arrange an interview with the study investigator at your local study site, please contact: Dr. Scott Rollins, MD, or Amber Rainey, BSN, at the Integrative Medicine Center of Western Colorado (www.imcwc.com) in Grand Junction, CO. Phone 970-245-6911.