From: georgec@eng.umd.edu (George B. Clark)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Is baloon angioplasty safe?
Date: 6 Apr 92 23:01:24 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: College of Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park

Without an optical scanner, I can only give you the gist by way of quotes
from the two periodicals I have before me.

In summary, this doctor says he did a survey of recent medical
literature, and he is quoting from those published sources. He is
highly critical of balloon angioplasty, angiograms, and heart bypass
surgery. His recommended alternative is an extremely low-fat diet,
chemotherapy, exercise, and chelation therapy with EDTA.

Periodical:  Wellness Today, March 1992
Editor: Julian Whitaker, M.D.
Article Title:  Treatments That Are More Lethal Than The Diseases They Treat

Periodical:  Health And Healing, April 1992
Author: Julian Whitaker, M.D.
Article Title:  EDTA Chelation Therapy: your Safe Alternative To Surgery

Dr. Whitaker may be reached at (301)424-3700

Balloon Angioplasty is a procedure cardiologists use to compress fatty
deposits inside the heart arteries--supposedly to eliminate blockages and
head off a heart attck. Nearly 300,000 people have the $15,000 procedure
every year, generating a windfall of over $4 billion to hospitals and
doctors every single year.

Only two problems:

First, about 2% to 4% of angioplasty patients die during the procedure
or within a years afterwards, due to complications from the surgery.
Since there are about 20 million candidates for angioplasty alive today,
as many as 800,000 people could eventually be killed by angioplasty, yet
there are only 500,000 people who die from heart attacks each year.

Secondly, there has never been a study that suggests angioplasty extends
the life expectancy at all. There's not a shred of evidence that indicates
this dangerous procedure does any good whatsoever. To the contrary --
studies have shown that 35% of all blockages return within six months,
and that angioplasty can actually create additional blockages by
damaging artery walls.

But that doesn't stop the medical industry. Balloon angioplasty is a
sacred cow-- at $4.5 billion a year, a sacred cash cow!

...........

The article goes on to discuss angiograms and heart bypass surgery...

A million angiograms are done in this country each year, and 90% are
unnecessary. Of those, between 0.1% and 0.5% result in the death of the
patient. (4,500 patients dead per year.)

Furthermore, the angiogram is one of the most inaccurate tests used in
modern medicine. Comparisons of angiogram readings and actual blood
flow measurements have proven the angiogram is so inaccurate, it is
essentially worthless.

According to RAND corporation, 44% of bypass patients do not need the
operation and would better off with drugs, diet, and exercise.

No study has ever shown bypass patients have a longer life expectancy
as a result of their surgery. 5% of bypass patients die as a consequence
of the surgery-- compared to a 1.9% annual death rate from the disease
itself! In other words, over $10 million a day is spent on unnecessary
heart bypass operations which kill between 14,000 and 28,000 people
every year.

                             EDTA Chelation Therapy

"One of this century's best-kept medical secrets.."

Since calcium is deposited in cholesterol plaques that clog the
arteries, EDTA which also binds and removes calcium will soften and
reverse the plaque deposits themselves.

Chelation therapy fell into disfavor, however, because the drug
patent expired, leaving the manufacturer, Abbot Laboratories, with no
incentive to pursue its use. Secondly, costly surgery for the heart was
geometrically on the rise, and EDTA chelation therapy -- an inexpensive
outpatient office procedure, became far less interesting.

A major study on chelation therapy was published in 1988 by James Carter,MD
from Tulane Med. School and Efrain Olszewer, MD clinical cardiologist of
Sao Paulo, Brazil. The study observed 1,970 patients with heart disease.
94% of heart patients saw marked improvement. 99% of patients with leg
pain from blocked arteries had marked improvement.

If those 1,970 patients had instead agreed to surgery to either the
heart or legs, statistically 100 would have died from the surgery
itself, 400-600 would have had significant non-fatal complications.
None would have come anywhere near to EDTA's 80% to 90% marked
improvement.

In 1989, the FDA began an EDTA study of its own, and the results are
due in about 18 months.

 ..................

That's all I have time to write. I cannot quote the source, but I have
also heard more than once that plaques can actually be REVERSED by
low-fat diet alone, i.e. less than 20 grams per day. In addition, I have
heard this reported by the syndicated Gabe Mirkin, MD who says on his
talk-radio program that the fact that plaque is reversable by low-fat
dieting alone was believed untrue until very recent studies showed it
to be so.

...................

Whether or not you agree with my sources, I hope you appreciate that all
of the above took about 2 hours of my free time after work today.

Best of luck to the lady who had an urgent need for some free advice.