Dr. Gervasio Lamas, principal investigator of TACT trial

Dr. Gervasio Lamas, principal investigator of TACT trial
Dr. Gervasio Lamas, principal investigator of TACT trial
Dr. Gervasio Lamas was the principal investigator of the TACT trial which examined a promising method of treating heart disease

A treatment used by alternative medical providers to treat heart disease is now gaining attention after a study shows that it can significantly reduce cardiac events for heart attack patients with diabetes.

According to data from the 10-year National Institutes of Health-sponsored Trial toAssess Chelation Therapy (TACT), chelation therapy – which removes metals from the body – used in conjunction with high-dose oral vitamins and supplements can reduce the risk of heart complications such as death, more heart attacks, strokes and other problems by 26% in heart attack survivors, and by an astonishing 49% in diabetic heart attack survivors. Results will be published in an upcoming issue of the American Heart Journal.

“There is simply nothing like this in diabetes care,” said Gervasio A. Lamas, M.D., the study’s principal investigator and chairman of medicine and chief of the Columbia University Division of Cardiology atMount Sinai Medical Center. “I believe we can offer better health to heart attack survivors, particularly if they have diabetes.”

The chelation protocol involves multiple injections of a synthetic amino acid, ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid – better known as EDTA – into the blood stream. EDTA binds to certain metals and minerals in the blood, such as lead and cadmium, enabling them to be removed from the body through urination. These metals are often associated with risk of heart attack, stroke, high-blood pressure and death.

The double-blind, placebo-controlled study occurred between September 2003 and October 2010, and included 1,708 patients 50 years and older, all of whom suffered a previous heart attack. More than onethird of the group – 633 patients – had diabetes.
The group was randomly divided into four groups for treatment: those receiving EDTA chelation with high-dose oral multivitamins, EDTA chelation with oral placebo (in place of vitamins), placebo infusions with highdose multivitamins and placebo infusions with oral placebo.

When compared with patients who were assigned to placebo infusions and placebo oral vitamins, heart attack survivors receiving chelation plus oral supplements demonstrated a 26% reduction in heart complications. This was increased to a reduction of complications by nearly half in patients who had diabetes.

For more information about Mount Sinai Medical Center, visit www.msmc.com. Follow Dr. Lamas on Twitter@GLamasmd. Follow Mount Sinai on Twitter@MountSinaiMiami.


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