Chelation Therapy in Narberth, PA: Heavy Metals and Heart Health

If you pay close attention to your heart health, you may already know your LDL cholesterol, your ApoB, and perhaps your Lp(a) or your coronary calcium score. You track these numbers the way you track everything else, with data. But most adults have never had one category of risk measured: contaminant metals.

In 2023, the American Heart Association published a scientific statement naming lead, cadmium and arsenic as cardiovascular risk factors. The statement reviewed large studies across diverse populations. Those studies linked higher exposure to these metals with coronary heart disease, stroke, peripheral artery disease and early death from cardiovascular causes. The researchers described the relationship as dose-dependent, meaning higher exposure was associated with higher risk.

Why Metals Rarely Come Up in Routine Care

• Exposure is nearly universal. These metals can come from food, drinking water, soil, air and older housing, and cadmium also comes from past smoking. A comfortable lifestyle does not protect you from exposure. That includes here on the Main Line, where many homes were built before lead-based house paint was banned in 1978.
• They have no role in the body. Unlike iron or zinc, lead, cadmium and arsenic do nothing useful in the body. Any amount present is contamination.
• Standard risk calculators leave them out. The calculators used in most routine visits focus on cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes, smoking and age. A risk factor that is never measured is one you cannot manage.

Have you ever had your blood lead, cadmium or arsenic levels measured as an adult? Most of our patients have not.

What the Chelation Trials Actually Showed

If metals are a risk factor, a natural question follows: does removing them change heart outcomes? Two clinical trials funded by the National Institutes of Health have tested this using EDTA chelation. The honest answer is more interesting than the marketing you may have seen elsewhere.

TACT (2013)

The Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT) was the first rigorous trial of EDTA chelation against a placebo. It followed 1,708 adults who had previously had a heart attack. Published in JAMA in 2013, it reported 18% fewer cardiovascular events overall in the chelation group. Most of that difference came from fewer procedures to reopen or bypass blocked heart arteries. The effect looked largest among participants with diabetes, and the result surprised many cardiologists.

Our office was selected as one of the clinical sites for TACT because of our expertise and experience with chelation, and we were proud to take part in this research.

TACT2 (2024)

TACT2 set out to repeat that result in about 1,000 adults who had both diabetes and a prior heart attack. Each participant received 40 weekly infusions of either EDTA chelation or a placebo. Published in JAMA in 2024, it found:

• Chelation lowered median blood lead levels by about 61% from where participants started.
• Chelation did not reduce cardiovascular events compared with placebo.

Why the Results Differed

The investigators pointed to differences between the two groups of participants. People in TACT2 had more advanced disease. They also appear to have had lower lead levels at the start, which fits with decades of falling lead exposure across the US and Canada. In other words, the newer participants may simply have had less metal to remove.

Many clinics that offer chelation never mention TACT2. We think you should know about it, because it is one of the most informative results in the field.

Why We Measure First

Taken together, this research points to a clear principle: chelation is not a general wellness treatment. Its rationale depends on there being a measurable amount of metal to remove. That is why we do not offer chelation to everyone who asks, and why we do not start with an infusion. We start by measuring.

How the Rose & Crown Chelation Program Works

Phase 1: Comprehensive Metals and Cardiovascular Assessment

Every patient begins here. Your assessment includes:

• Blood lead and blood cadmium, plus urine cadmium and arsenic, measured on a standard sample taken without giving any chelating agent first, so results reflect your normal, everyday levels
• A full cardiometabolic review: lipids, ApoB, Lp(a), blood sugar markers, inflammatory markers and kidney function
• A consultation to go over your exposure history, your results and what they mean for you

Phase 2: Medically Supervised Custom Chelation, Only When Indicated

Chelation is offered only when your measured levels support it. When it is appropriate, EDTA is given by slow IV infusion under medical supervision. Kidney function, minerals and electrolytes are monitored throughout, and replacing essential minerals is built into the protocol.

Phase 3: Re-Measurement

Repeat testing lets you see what changed in actual numbers, rather than going on how you feel.

If Your Levels Are Low

We will tell you. Chelation would not be appropriate for you, and you will have crossed one unknown off your list. Many of our patients consider that worth knowing on its own.

Who This Program Is For

We have practiced integrative medicine for more than 30 years, and chelation has been part of the practice for most of that time. This program is designed for people who are proactive about their health and want to know exactly why a treatment is or is not recommended. We schedule a limited number of assessments each month so every result gets a full medical review.

Ready to Know Your Numbers?

Rose & Crown Integrative Medicine

Schedule your Metals and Cardiovascular Assessment through Rose & Crown. Its membership-based integrative care gives you time to go over every result with our team.

Call (610) 667-4601

822 Montgomery Avenue, Suite #315, Narberth, PA 19072

Serving patients in Narberth and the surrounding Main Line communities, including Bala Cynwyd, Wynnewood and Merion Station.

Sources:

• Lamas GA, Navas-Acien A, et al. Contaminant Metals as Cardiovascular Risk Factors: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. J Am Heart Assoc. 2023;12(13):e029852.
• Lamas GA, et al. Effect of disodium EDTA chelation regimen on cardiovascular events in patients with previous myocardial infarction: the TACT randomized trial. JAMA. 2013;309(12):1241-1250.
• Lamas GA, Anstrom KJ, Navas-Acien A, et al. Edetate disodium-based chelation for patients with a previous myocardial infarction and diabetes: TACT2 randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2024;332(10):794-803.

EDTA chelation is not FDA-approved for the prevention or treatment of cardiovascular disease. Chelation is offered only after medical evaluation and is not appropriate for everyone. This article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for individual medical advice. Results vary.