Am Heart J. 2000 Jul; 140(1): 139-41.

Chelation therapy for coronary heart disease: An overview of all clinical investigations.

Ernst E.

Department of Complementary Medicine, School of Postgraduate Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Exeter, United Kingdom. E.Ernst@exeter.ac.uk

BACKGROUND: Chelation therapy is popular in the United States. The question of whether it does more good than harm remains controversial. AIM: The aim of this systematic review was to summarize all the clinical evidence for or against the effectiveness and efficacy of chelation therapy for coronary heart disease. METHODS: A thorough search strategy was implemented to retrieve all clinical investigations regardless of whether they were controlled or uncontrolled. RESULTS: The most striking finding is the almost total lack of convincing evidence for efficacy. Numerous case reports and case series were found. The majority of these publications seem to indicate that chelation therapy is effective. Only 2 controlled clinical trials were located. They provide no evidence that chelation therapy is efficacious beyond a powerful placebo effect. CONCLUSION: Given the potential of chelation therapy to cause severe adverse effects, this treatment should now be considered obsolete.