Chelation Therapy Shows Unexpected, Albeit Limited, Success in CVD

Patients may ask about reports on the success of chelation therapy to remove calcium from patients with cardiovascular disease. Skeptics are — well, skeptical. The study was presented on Sunday at the American Heart Association meeting.

According to a New York Times account, some 1700 patients with previous myocardial infarction were randomized to about a year's worth of chelation therapy or placebo. During nearly 5 years' follow-up, 26% of those on active therapy experienced a cardiovascular event, as opposed to 30% of those on placebo.

One critic called the work "fatally flawed," according to the Times, and said that wide adoption of the procedure would be "a public health catastrophe."