Have you or a loved one struggled with diabetes or suffered from any of its complications, like a heart attack? Have you tried looking for advice from doctors or friends, or even searched the internet and social media platforms for different treatment options? If so, you may have heard about an alternative treatment option that has shown promising results. It is called “chelation therapy”. But what is it and what does it do?
Chelation therapy was developed in the 1930s and was designed to remove heavy metals from the blood of severely metal-poisoned patients. A chelator is a magnetic molecule that binds to metal in the blood and carries it to the kidneys to be eliminated harmlessly through the urine. In this way, the blood is cleared of metal toxins like lead and cadmium. For many years, only alternative medicine practitioners prescribed this treatment, while conventional medicine criticized it as ineffective. More recently, research led by Mount Sinai has demonstrated benefits from chelation, particularly in diabetic patients with heart disease.
In 2002, The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute funded a $30 million clinical trial called TACT (Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy) to treat heart disease. This study was led by Dr. Gervasio Lamas at Mount Sinai and conducted in 134 hospitals and clinics across the United States and Canada, with 1,780 patients enrolled. Participants were 50 years of age or older, had suffered a prior heart attack, and 37% of them had diabetes. Patients were divided into two groups: one received the chelation treatment, and the other received an infusion of placebo (with no effects). Treatment consisted of 40 infusions of the chelator plus multivitamins, or a placebo. After 10 years, in 2012, the research team reported that patients who underwent chelation had an 18% reduction in total heart events (including death, a new heart attack, stroke, need for a stent or bypass surgery, and hospitalization for heart pain). This benefit was even greater in diabetic patients, with a 41% reduction in these events and a 43% reduction in death over 5 years. This was a remarkable achievement.
How are we exposed to heavy metals?
Heavy metals are naturally found in the environment as a result of industrial activities, such as mining, but are also found in many common products such as paint, lead pipes, dental amalgams, tobacco, contaminated water and soil, and seafood (among others). Most cases of severe heavy metal intoxication are due to direct contact or occupational exposure. In other words, people at the highest risk for intoxication are those who live or work in an environment with a high concentration of heavy metals or who are exposed to substances or food contaminated by them. But this is uncommon.
The most common form of metal contamination is low-level, even at levels that the Government thinks are okay. But even low-level exposure to some of these metals is strongly associated with cardiovascular diseases like hypertension, stroke, kidney problems, and even heart attacks, especially in patients with diabetes. Some common metal toxicants that people are exposed to every day include lead (soil, plumbing, vinyl), mercury (many types of fish), arsenic (well water, apple juice, brown rice), and cadmium (rechargeable batteries, tobacco, e-cigarettes).
It’s no secret that we hear news about metal toxins every day – usually lead – like in Flint Michigan, and the threat that these toxins pose to the environment and human health. The good news is that given the outcome of TACT, the National Institutes of Health is supporting a second trial called TACT2, to verify the benefits of chelation therapy in diabetic patients who have had a prior heart attack. The design of TACT2 is just like TACT, with 50% of patients receiving active chelation and 50% a placebo. The study is supported by the federal government, supervised by the FDA, and led at Mount Sinai. So if you or someone you know has diabetes and has suffered a heart attack, there is a treatment option that may help you stay healthy and decrease the risk of new or future cardiovascular complications.
You can read more about the TACT2 trial and learn how to enroll:
For information about prior TACT outcomes in Diabetes (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health):
Dr. Gervasio A. Lamas is the Co-Director of the Mount Sinai Heart Institute, and Chief of the Columbia Univesity Division of Cardiology at Mount Sinai. Dr. Lamas dedicates himself to the practice of cardiology and research to improve patient care. Reach him for an appointment at