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Bypass Bypass Surgery
Of all the diseases that afflict Americans, heart disease is the leading killer, with one million people dying from it each year. Coronary artery bypass---whereby obstructed portions of the arteries are bypassed with grafts from the patient's leg---is the most popular form of treatment, and has grown to become a 10 billion dollar a year industry.
Despite its popularity, bypass surgery has a long list of unpublicized side-effects, and in many cases has proven to be unnecessary. Unless the chosen hospital and the performing surgeon are highly qualified, the chances of leaving the operating room alive can be as low as one in five. One in twenty patients suffers a heart attack following surgery, and one in forty suffers a stroke. In addition, the older the patient, the lower the chances of survival, and patients undergoing a repeat bypass are faced with 10% to 20% higher risk of fatality.
Though in some cases bypass surgery is necessary and may prove helpful, research has shown that a bulk of the operations performed every day can be avoided. Elmer Cranton, M.D., in his book, Bypassing Bypass, indicates that a ten year, 24 million dollar study conducted by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, which screened 16,000 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass at eleven leading medical centers, revealed no increase in post-surgical survival rates as compared with a matched group of non-surgically treated patients. Furthermore, the quality of life among the two groups was similar--both in terms of employment and recreational activity.
Another shortfall of bypass surgery is that it is a patchwork solution to a disease that affects the entire arterial system. Replacing the most crucial arteries is temporarily helpful. However, if the whole vascular system is affected, the chances of another occlusion occurring several years down the road are quite high.
CHELATION THERAPY: AN ALTERNATIVE TO BYPASS SURGERY
Chelation therapy is a non-invasive outpatient treatment consisting of a series of intravenous infusions of a prescription medication popularly known as EDTA (Ethylene-Diamine-Tetra-Acetate). A substance that removes undesirable metals from the body, EDTA has been used for decades by traditional medicine to treat heavy metal toxicity such as excess lead, mercury, and cadmium. Used mainly as an industrial tool from the early 19030s to the 1940s, chelation therapy with EDTA made its way into the medical arena following World War II--when it became a routine treatment for arsenic and other metal poisonings. And with the threat of radioactive contamination, the idea of a treatment that could cleanse the body of radioactive contamination became especially appealing.
I the 1950s, chelation therapy became popular in the United States for the treatment of lead poisoning for both children and adults. What came as a surprise, however, was that patients who underwent this form of therapy often reported additional results, such as an improvement of the senses (particularly vision, smell, and hearing), as well as a clearer and more peaceful state of mind. In addition, patients who suffered from atherosclerosis (heart disease) in addition to lead poisoning reported a decrease in chest pain, and an improvement in physical endurance.
These reports led physicians and researchers to investigate the potential benefits of chelation therapy to individuals suffering from heart disease. In the 1960s, Clinical studies quickly followed, and as Dr. Cramon explains, medical reports consistently described identifiable signs or improved coronary circulation and heart function in most atherosclerotic patients after chelation. The studies found that as a result of chelation therapy, patients' skin color improved, they experienced a normalization of temperature in their extremities, their muscular coordination and brain function was improved, and their exercise tolerance was increased.
Numerous studies have been conducted since, confirming the benefits of chelation therapy. The number of patients who have since received such therapy is nearly half a million.
HOW DOES EDTA WORK?
No running system is 100 percent efficient. The same is true for the human body. When waste is not appropriately eliminated from the body, toxins gradually build up (a result of poor eating habits, environmental pollutants, and stress), and lead to a host of illnesses, including heart disease and cancer. EDTA---a synthetic amino acid----attracts and extracts abnormal metal ions from the body, reducing the production of tree radicals (oxygen molecules that have a missing electron and need to snatch an electron from a neighboring molecule, thus creating a snowball effect that can ultimately become very damaging to nearby cells). In addition, the removal of abnormal ions lessens the likelihood of toxins building up on blood vessel walls.
Clinical benefits from chelation therapy vary, depending on the total number of treatments received and on the severity of the condition. On the average, however, it is estimated that over seventy-five percent of treated patients show significant improvement from chelation therapy, and ninety percent of treated patients who receive thirty or more treatments benefit greatly when they combine chelation with significant changes in their diet, exercise patterns, and lifestyle choices.
WHAT DOES A TREATMENT INVOLVE?
Treatment often lasts three months, or approximately thirty sessions for arterial blockage. The number of sessions per week varies depending on the patient's condition, but the administration is often performed on a weekly basis. The session lasts about one and a half hours, during which the patient can read, relax, watch television, or catch up on correspondence. Adding to the long list of benefits of chelation therapy is the ease with which EDTA is administered, the most discomfort aspect o fit being the intravenous needle's pinprick that starts the infusion. Following the treatment, patients can proceed with their usual activities.
SAFETY?
Pretreatment testing is an important precaution to chelation therapy, since your physician must determine an appropriate medication dosage, the rate of dosage, and a safe interval between infusions.
When administered properly, EDTA is safe and relatively risk-free. Patients suffering from atherosclerosis must consider the following: The overall death rate as a direct result of bypass surgery is approximately three percent. The incidence of other serious complications following surgery is much higher----including heart attacks, strokes, blood clots, and permanent brain damage. Chelation, on the other hand, may bring about minor discomfort at the site where the needle was entered: and occasionally, patients experience fatigue and lightheadedness----both of which are correctable.
Chelation therapy may be administered to people of all ages. The only contraindications apply to those with severe allergies.
IS CHELATION THERAPY FOR YOU?
Only you can make that decision. Chances are your doctor will try to dissuade you away from this option. In fact, patients who choose chelation often do so against the advice of their personal physicians or cardiologists. Unfortunate as it is, chelation therapy has been snubbed by the medical community because, as often is the case, too many vested interests (bypass surgery and heart medications both being billion dollar industries) are working hard to prevent research and to keep the information from the medical community and from patients: Do your own research. A number of books are available on this topic, which can help you to come up with an educated and well-thought out decision:
Secondary Benefits of EDTA
Because chelation involves the entire vascular system of the body, numerous benefits have been associated with EDTA infusions. Reports have included the following:
- Normalization of blood pressure
- Improved heart function
- Improved circulation
- Reduction of liver-produced cholesterol
- Lowered insulin requirements in diabetics
- Lowered blood cholesterol levels
- Normalization of cardiac arrhythmias
- Relief from leg cramps
- Reduction in allergic symptoms
- Normalized weight
- Improved psychological and emotional status
- Enhanced sensory input with better sight, hearing and taste
- Lightened age spots
- Fewer aches and arthritic pains
- Reduction of medication dosage
- Reversal of hair loss
- Reversal of impotence
- Reversal of Alzheimer's disease symptoms
- Reduced need for diuretics
- Normalization of cold extremities
- Better memory and increased mental clarity
- Improved appearance, including more hair luster, stronger nails, better skin color, and fewer wrinkles
Bypassing Bypass, by Elmer Cranton, M.D
Forty Something Forever: A Consumer Guide to Chelation Therapy, by Harold and Arline Brecher.
HELPFUL ORGANIZATIONS
American College of Advancement in Medicine: ACAM seeks to establish certification and standards of practice for chelation therapy. It provides training, education and conferences for physicians and scientists, as well as informational material for the health care consumer. (800) 532-7666.
Great Lakes Association of Clinical Medicine: Provides information on chelation therapy. (312) 266-7246.
Richard N. Ash, M.D., P. C. is the medical director of The Ash Center for Comprehensive Medicine (800A Fifth Ave, at 61st ST.), and can be reached a (212)758-3200. You can listen to him on WOR 710AM radio every Sunday from 5:00pm - 7:00pm("In the Doctor's Office") Dr. Ash has also developed a pharmaceutical reagent grade vitamin and mineral supplement line called "Pure Essentials." Call (800)628-3009 for more information.
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