What is chelation therapy used for?

Chelation therapy is a medical intervention that is used to treat patients who have been exposed to toxic levels of certain metallic elements, according to the American Cancer Society. The therapy involves injecting patients with chemicals that can bind to or chelate toxic metals in the bloodstream.

Chelation therapy is most often prescribed in patients who have toxic levels of iron, mercury, lead, cadmium or zinc in their bloodstreams, according to the American Cancer Society. The chemical injected into their bloodstreams is most often ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. This chemical binds to any of these metals and helps the metals to be eliminated from the body.