HeartDisease

andChelation

TherapyMy View After 35 Years Of Research

by Garry F. Gordon, MD, DO, MD(H)

I have been involved in the field of chelation for over thirty-five years. I wrote the initial American Collegeof Advancement in Medicine (ACAM) chelation protocol, which, with little modification over the ensuingyears, has been successfully and safely used by physicians to treat well over ten million patients, without asingle death attrihuted to the chelation treatment.

Chelation therapy dramatically improved my own health when I was disabled with angina at an earlyage. As a co-founder of ACAM, I have spent over 35 years attempting to discover how chelation therapy helpspatients with heart disease and other conditions. With my background in radiology, I knew that angiogramswere grossly misleading and completely failed to accurately reflect adequacy of blood flow. Therefore, I lookedto other ways of documenting the efficacy of treatment. My protocol required doctors who provided chelationin the past to become knowledgeable in non-invasive vascular testing such as plethysmography, thermography,Doppler, etc. Through these noninvasive measurements on thousands of patients, we have documentedimproved circulation for well over 85% of all patients who were adequately cheiated. I wanted to prove thatchelation therapy routinely increased blood to the head, the feet, and all parts between. I was required bythe California Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) authorities to write that protocol to protect the public.Today, with my current belief that virtually everyone can benefit from chelation therapy, I still love IVchelation, but I have focused recently on oral chelation since I believe that everyone needs to get the heavymetals out of their body, and not everyone has access to IV chelation. I am also very pleased with the resultsbeing reported to my Chelation Discussion Group (CDG) by doctors offering the newer five-to-ten minutechelation protocol from Europe, which utilizes the more convenient, less expensive, entirely painless calciumEDTA.

TOWNSEND LETTER tor DOCTORS & PATIENTS - FEBRUARY/MARCH 2006

Heart Disease & Chelation

I am distressed, however, about theserious level of misinformation,regarding all aspects of chelation, thatI encounter everywhere I go. Claimsabout enhanced chelation, I feel, areoften exaggerated and not cost-effective. Since long-term cbelation isrequired for real long-term benefits,tbis means prolonged oral cbelation isnecessary for years. Tben tbere aretbose wbo insist a cbelating patient willbecome mineral-depleted even if onaggressive mineral supplementation. Inmy experience, with over 20 years ofprescribing the aggressive use of oralcbelation, tbis has never happened.Reluctance to cbange also exists, witbdoctors resisting tbe use of oralcbelation therapy or tbe new sbort formof chelation therapy. I tbougbt thatgetting $29 miUion from tbe NationalInstitutes of Health (NIH) to studycbelation (tbe TACT study) wouldfinally force tbose wbo claim tbatchelation tberapy is unscientific torealize tbey are clearly seriouslyuninformed.

I admit tbat I contributed to someof tbis entrencbed resistance tocbelation for vascular disease fromacademia. Tbirty-five years ago, I fullybelieved tbat we must be reversingplaque in patients if we were gettingtbese dramatic clinical results, in wbicbgangrene was bealed, vision andmemory was restored, and patientswere released from from a bospital bedstraight to the tennis court. Now weknow tbat lowering blood viscosity orincreasing nitric oxide levels canstrongly influence blood flow. Eventoday, many patients believe tbey arereversing plaque tbrougb cbelation,

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and altbougb tbis may occur, it isclearly not a predictable benefit. Heartsurgeons are aware tbat tbey often findextensive plaque during bypass surgeryin patients wbo bad been cbelated.

Tbis failure to reverse plaque wasclearly true for my deceased brotber,wbo bad taken well over 200 cbelationtreatments before be had his first near-fatal beart attack while skiing. Heunderwent anotber intensive series ofcbelation preceding bis fatal beartattack, but be still sbowed extensiveplaque throughout tbe body at autopsy.

It is now clear to me that plaquereversal is not tbe primary mechanismof action with cbelation tberapy. In tberest of tbis article, I will sbare wbat Inow believe explains bow and wbycbelation therapy works and is soeffective for treating and preventingbeart disease. (In tbe interests of fulldisclosure, I sbould point out tbat Ihave a vested interest in tbe commentsI will make here, since I formulate oralcbelators for tbree companies and baveworked witb anotber company tointroduce the parenteral product usedfor tbe sbort "pusb" form of cbelation,using calcium EDTA.)

I believe intravenous calcium EDTAis ideal for patients in cases wberelowering total body burden of toxicmetals rapidly is an important part oftbeir treatment program, since eacb oftbese sbort IV treatments removes 147times more lead over baseline. Tbis isa significantly greater lead reductiontban is routinely achieved witb tbe two-to-tbree-bour protocol and removes asmucb lead in one day as my oralprogram removes in a month. Ideally,bowever, botb IV and oral cbelationsbould be used: IV chelation to start tbecleansing, and oral cbelation to makesure tbat patients always continue tolower tbeir lead levels. We all need tbe"heparin-like" protection tbat addingDr. Lester Morrison's formula to oralcbelation provides against fatalcardiovascular events.

I believe tbat anyone visiting myweb site (www.gordonresearcb.com)and typing in tbe searcb area words likeLEAD or EDTA or oral cbelation, andkeeping an open mind, will soon beconvinced tbat most of wbat they nowbelieve about cbelation and beavymetals is largely incorrect.

I will not take tbe time here toassemble tbe nearly 7000 referencestbat I bave collected over my 35 yearsof research in this field to back up tbestatements I make, but suffice it to say,I am confident tbat I can successfullysupport tbe strong statements tbat Imake bere. It is important to recognizetbat average bone lead levels todayworldwide are 1000 times bigber tbantbey were 400 years ago. I am convincedby researcb conducted at Cal-Tecb tbatsbowed nearly everyone on eartb todaybas nearly 1000 times too mucb lead intbeir bones. Tbe study also sbowed tbatexcessive levels of all of tbe otber heavymetals exist in body t issues.Researchers at Harvard bave publisbeda study in JAMA tbat sbows tbis bonelead is in equilibrium witb otbertissues, even tbe lens of tbe eye, as tbebigber your bone lead, tbe sooner youget your cataract. In fact, all causes ofmorbidity and mortality are tied toblood lead levels tbrougbout life. Tbesemetals are now proven to bave seriousadverse effects on bealtb. Since bonesin adults take 10-15 years to remodel,it is essential to cbelate continuouslyfor at least 10-15 years to significantlyimpact bealtb favorably Otberwise, tbebenefits tbat your patients receive willbe transient.

I believe that cbelation tberapyusing tbe current ACAM protocol doesnot routinely reverse plaque, but it doesroutinely increases blood flow. Over80% of cbelating patients dramaticallyimprove clinically. I bave attemptedover tbese 35 years to determine wbywe see such dramatic clinicalimprovement using cbelation tberapy.

Patients are confused to learn tbat,althougb tbeir symptoms are gone,tbeir plaque is not only still tbere, butsometimes even worse. Yet, EDTAalways lowers tbe total body burden ofmetals, althougb some metals are beldin place by patbogens. In tbat case,combined tberapies to deal witb botbtbe patbogen and tbe metals arerequired. My protocol as outlined in mybook on autism (The Puzzle Autism:Putting It AU Together, co-autboredwith Dr. Amy Yasko) bas been found toremove all beavy metals, includinglead, cadmium, tin, antimony, andmercury, witbout using IV tberapies,.In fact, we sbow cases wbere IV DMPS,

TOWNSEND LETTER for DOCTOHS & PATIENTS - FEBRUARY/MARCH 2006

Heart Disease & Chelation

which I use only selectively, had notshown any mercury excretion, yetchildren on the total correct oralprogram excreted mercury ofFthe chartfor months using the EDTA RNA-hasedprogram. My web site contains over 500abstracts documenting the safety andeffectiveness of oral EDTA. Dr. AmyYasko and I have collected over 10,000data points from the weekly urine testsgiven to over 200 autistic children, allof whom had been successfullydetoxified using chelation therapy thatconsisted solely of oral productscontaining EDTA, garlic, and malicacid, supplemented with EDTA bathingand EDTA gum.

Oral EDTA chelation therapy works.It is safe and effective even though ithas an absorption rate of only fivepercent. I do not need higher absorptionsince the current program has had nofailure in 20 years. Also, I prefer to havea significant amount of EDTAremaining in the intestine at all timesto help prevent the re-absorption ofthetoxic metals, the oxidation of bile salts,and the diminishment of the freeradical effects on bowel contents, whichleads to the formation of mutagens andcarcinogens. I need patients to remainon oral chelation for many years if I amto significantly improve their long-termoutcomes. To the best of my knowledge,no one taking the recommended dosageof oral chelation therapy in years hasdied with a fatal MI. It appears this racewill be won by the turtle, not the hare.

It also appears that properformulations with EDTA can lowerblood viscosity. Beyond ChelationImproved, an oral chelation formula Ideveloped, has been shown, usingrheologic equipment, to provide thisbenefit. This is partially due to theparticular form of sulfatedpolysaccharides the formula includes,which were developed by LesterMorrison at a cost of over $10 millionand which Morrison documented couldsafely eliminate excessive clottingtendencies. It seems that lowering leadand other heavy metals is a desirablegoal, and oral chelation is a safe andaffordable method for doing so. Oralchelation, however, must be done longenough to permit bones to completelyremodel. Lower lead levels meanshigher IQ, more energy, and researchindicates lower morbidity and

mortality. So we live longer if we getthe lead out.

The reason for failure to reverseplaque is that plaque is a multi-factorialproblem. My original protocol was fartoo narrow in its approach to routinelyexpect plaque reversal, which I nowachieve with a more broadly based andpersonalized approach, facilitated witha 40 SNP gene test. The results permit

me to correct methylation problems,found in everyone, using different,specific RNA-based therapies. RNA alsoassists patients with inflammation andstress, as well as safely improves allbiochemical parameters, includinglipids and glucose levels.

Four general areas must beaddressed in dealing with complex

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TOWNSEND LETTER for DOCTORS & PATIENTS - FEBRUARY/MARCH 200697

Heart Disease & Chelation

degenerative diseases, whether it isheart disease, cancer, or prematureaging. These include environmentaltoxicity, total hody burden of pathogens,genetic issues, and specific nutritionaltherapies, which can lead to loweringblood viscosity, for example, as oralchelation has been shown to do, or tocontrolling free radicals, or simply tohelping deal with inflammation andinfection. Interestingly, although it isnot widely appreciated for this ability,EDTA also has significant anti-viralactivity, which is one of the reasons itis a vital part of the treatment ofautistic children. This antiviral activitymay further explain some of the moredramatic responses reported invascular disease patients, since we nowrecognize that lowering total bodyburden of pathogens is another majorgoal in cardiovascular disease.

I have previously writ tenextensively about chelation therapy'shistory and mechanisms of action. Themost recent of those articles (with over180 references) was published hyACAM and can he found on my web site.I have identified over 30 reasons for theclinical benefits seen in vascularocclusive disease in any part ofthe body.My experience and research, as directorof a large, trace element lab, hasconvinced me that "getting the lead out"will provide benefits for anyone seekingto optimize their health and longevity,and that it should he a part of theprotocol for virtually every diseasecondition, from cancer to aging.

Today, I receive calls from and acceptpatients who have had ultra-high-speedCAT scans or angiograms that showedtheir vascular conditions to besignificantly worse after completing acourse of chelation. If you go to my website and type in the word, "calcification,"many ofthe reasons for these worseningconditions are discussed there. I haveeven more information available in afree, "by invitation only" discussiongroup, with over 670 healthprofessionals from around the world.This site has over 50 different protocolsthat these participating healthprofessionals employ for treating manyconditions from Alzheimer's and autismto breast cancer. Often, we findchelation therapy has merit in thesenon-vascular-related conditions.

Since the NEJM published anarticle showing that calcium EDTA canbe effective in postponing dialysis inpatients with early renal failure,concerns about renal toxicity have beenlargely eliminated. The NEJM articlealso discussed the effects of low levelsof lead on the IQ of children andconcluded that "no safe level of lead,"exists. So we see a very large benefit-to-risk ratio in using some form ofchelation for patients.

The claim that oral chelation willseriously deplete a patient's tracemineral status is simply not supportedby the published literature, which youcan read on my web site. In fact, manyreferences show EDTA may improvesome mineral status, particularly if youuse a therapeutic well-formulatedmineral vitamin supplement.

Autistic children have shown usthrough genetic defects, as in COMT,that a total program is necessary,including specialized RNA supplementsto deal with these defects in eliminatingthe heavy metals all of us are exposedto every day in our water, food, and air(see www.autismanswer.com). In thefuture, prospective parents will wantdetoxification programs. I feel it isimportant to chelate prospectivemothers during pregnancy. This makesit essential tha t we clear the airregarding benefits and risks aroundchelation. Since early researchers foundmutations in chelated rat pups whenzinc was not supplemented, aninformed consent procedure to helpmothers balance the risks and benefitsis needed.

In this regard, it is important toknow that EDTA is an antioxidant. Inaddition, in 1961, oral EDTA was foundto make substances like heparin workorally without the need for injections.This discovery lead to my work withsulfated polysaccharides with LesterMorrison. Hypercoagulahility leads tomany miscarriages and is now believedto be involved in the death of over 1.5milhon patients a year from illnessesdiagnosed as heart attacks, pulmonaryemboli, and strokes.

I routinely advise my patients tocancel stents or hypass procedures sinceI know how bad the benefit-to-risk ratiois for most vascular surgery and howfavorable that same ratio is when you

completely understand my currentapproach to heart disease, wherein alifetime of oral chelation, for both itsheparin-like effect and its ahility tolower lead, is a vital component of myprogram.

Garry F. Gordon, MD, DO, MD(H)is a world-renown biochemist andresearcher who is recognized as the"Father of Chelation Therapy." He isrecognized as the doctor to the doctors,since the majority of his patients aredoctors from all around the world. Anexpert on nutri t ion, mineralmetabolism, and longevity. Dr. Gordonfocuses on developing effective nontoxicalternatives for the treatment of everydisease known to man, including aging.

A medical practitioner for more than40 years. Dr. Gordon currently operatesa medical research facility, GordonResearch Institute. He is a medicalconsultant, legal expert, and conferenceorganizer; he lectures extensively onThe End of Bypass Surgery Is In Sightand The Future of Chelation. He is oneofthe cofounders of American Collegeof Advancement in Medicine (ACAM)and is on the board of HomeopathicMedical Examiners for Arizona. He isalso President of the InternationalCollege of Advanced Longevity(ICALM) and co-author ofthe best-selling book, The Chelation Answer.

Dr. Gordon also serves as consultantfor Longevity Plus, a Payson, Arizona-based nutritional supplement company,where he is responsible for designingsupplements widely used by healthpractitioners around the world. Inaddition to helping thousands ofpatients globally as a consultant, healso maintains an e-mail discussiongroup distributed to 500 licensedmedical practitioners daily.

CorrespondenceGarry F. Gordon, MD, DO, MD(H)708 East Highway 260, Suite C-IFPayson, Arizona 85541 USA928-472-4263Fax 928-474-3819www.gordonresearch.comggordon@gordonresearch.com

For an invitation to the emaildiscussion group, contact:moderator@gordonre search .com

9BTOWNSEND LETTER (or DOCTORS & PATIENTS - FEBRUARY/MARCH 2006