Alternative holistic heart health

Has anyone gone thru chelation therapy for heart health?

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

I came across chelation years ago when I was diagnosed with PAD (peripheral arterial disease). This was seven years before I was I was diagnosed with CVD (cardio vascular disease).

The theory is that if certain chemicals are injected into the blood stream they bind to the calcium in the plaque and ultimately wash the plaque away! Research was done into this in New Zealand against a placebo. There was no difference found! In addition the chemicals carry a risk! So definitely something I would never consider!

[Chappychap]

Some people have made the (groundless) claim that chelation can remove the calcium from arterial plaque.

It's not only dangerous, it also shows a frightening ignorance of the biology of heart attacks, stroke, and angina. Yes, calcium deposits indicate plaque, but that doesn't necessarily mean calcium is your enemy. The real risk with plaques is not the calcium, it's the "hot" waxy centres that can rupture and form an artery blocking clot.

Calcium is more associated with "cold" stable plaques that are not being aroused by inflammation and are unlikely to rupture. In other words if you have heart disease what you really want is your plaques to be as SMALL as possible, but within those plaques you want the level of calcium to be as LARGE as possible.

Instead of thinking about heart disease using words like "furring up", it would be more helpful to use the analogy of acne. Plaques are like acne spots, they are discrete entities rather than an overall coating which "furring" implies. What you really don't want is a "spot" that may burst releasing its contents into the bloodstream. Best of all is to not have any "spots" in your arteries, but if you do have these arterial "spots" then better that they are stable and not prone to bursting, rather than livid and inflamed.