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During the procedure
Chelation therapy is done during the course of five to 30 treatments with a doctor or alternative medicine practitioner. During each treatment, you sit in a chair and an IV line is inserted in your hand or arm. A liquid solution is given to you through the IV line. Each treatment usually takes several hours. You may feel a temporary stinging or burning sensation at the injection site.
After the procedure
After the procedure, you can go about your daily activities. You'll be able to drive yourself home, eat your usual diet and do chores normally. You may notice some swelling around your ankles or that you need to urinate more than usual. Both result from the amount of fluid that's in the solution injected during chelation therapy.
Because the solution used in chelation therapy also binds to vitamins and minerals in your bloodstream, you'll need to take supplements after your procedure to replace them. You'll take the pills until you've finished your series of chelation treatments. Because the supplements are strong, carefully follow the instructions for taking them.
- Fuster V, ed. et al. Hurst's The Heart. 13th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2011. http://www.accessmedicine.com/resourceTOC.aspx?resourceID=5. Accessed Jan. 4, 2013.
- Questions and answers: The NIH trial of EDTA chelation therapy for coronary heart disease. National Institutes of Health. www.nhlbi.nih.gov/news/press-releases/supplement/questions-and-answers-the-nih-trial-of-edta-chelation-therapy-for-coronary-heart-disease.html. Accessed Jan. 3, 2013.
- Results of the trial to assess chelation therapy (TACT). American Heart Association. http://my.americanheart.org/idc/groups/ahamah-public/@wcm/@sop/@scon/documents/downloadable/ucm_446204.pdf. Accessed Jan. 3, 2013.
- Fihn SD, et al. 2012 ACCF/AHA/ACP/AATS/PCNA/SCAI/STS guideline for the diagnosis and management of patients with stable ischemic heart disease: Executive summary. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2012;60:2566.
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