Although I am not a cardiologist, my experience in treating patients with coronary artery diseases by integrative medicine, which involves with advanced medicines, chelation therapy and ECP (External Counter Pulsation) therapy over the years may be of interest to Malaysians in this age of high-tech and increasingly expensive health care.

About 17 years ago I started using chelation therapy on my wife who had bypass heart surgery in 1991 and later on, in 2002, I purchased ECP machine from USA and continued to treat her with both the therapies plus medicines since second bypass surgery was not indicated for her severely damaged heart.

I am grateful to IJN's skilful surgeons and the team who took great care of my wife.

With chelation therapy day by day my wife improved from her chest pains and lived a comfortable life with the above integrative medicine until 21st July 2011.

She passed away, at the age of 73, peacefully in the hospital due to other reasons.

I believe and accept that life span is in the hands of Almighty Allah.

Praise be and thanks to Almighty that She lived for 20 years post bypass surgery comfortably with integrated medicine.

Medical findings from elsewhere in the world confirm that the course of action I took is the right one.

Chelation therapy was controversial among allopathic doctors, but the demand is so high in USA that USA Government had allotted $31million to conduct a scientific double blind trial in 2002.

Unfortunately the trial was abandoned in 2009 due to some reasons. About half a million people in USA sought chelation therapy in a year.

A controversial clinical trial was conducted by a group of scientists and revealed that chelation therapy reduced the risk of heart attacks and other heart problems.

The results of the trial were presented at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association in Los Angeles, California on the 7th Nov 2012.

The research continues to report that chelation therapy is proven to cut the risk of death, second heart attacks, stroke and the need for heart procedures among some patients who already suffered an earlier heart attack.

So the scientists questioned why the US$31 million trial was pulled out?

Ref 1: http://blogs.nature.com/news/2012/11/chelation-trial-results-come-under-fire.html

Ref 2: http://newsroom.heart.org/news/chelation-therapy-doesn-t-alter-240495 .

On the other hand bypass surgery, angioplasty and stent do not have such qualities, it is only for temporary relief of chest pain.

It does not prevent future heart attack, future blockage of the arteries, stroke and the need for repeated procedures on patients who already has undergone such procedures earlier.

Surgery is expensive, the risks were very high and the benefit was small.

Chelation therapy is now proven to be evidence -based safe therapy, less expensive and effective.

In the United States, more than 500,000 patients have been safely treated using a protocol developed by American College of Advancement in Medicine (ACAM).

It is also used in Britain, New Zealand, Switzerland, Germany, Korea, India and the Philippines.

I believe many doctors (about 40) have gone for training and are at present providing chelation therapy in Malaysia.

I request the Ministry of Health Malaysia to accomplish what DG Health Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican had said, "that the Ministry's TCM division has already inspected the seven known clinics (At present more than 40 clinics ) offering the treatment and its director has talked to insurance companies... which will start considering coverage for chelation once the Act is gazetted.

(Ref: Chelation coming in from the cold: Health NST 2009/10/26 by Annie Freeda Cruz and Santha Oorjitham.)

In my opinion , If we start chelation and ECP therapy as a preventive measure to the public at the age of 30, 40 ,50's at primary care centres, definitely there will be less severe chronic diseases like heart attack (Myocardial Infarct) and less diabetic patients with severe complications like gangrene and stroke.

This will definitely reduce the cost of health care in the country.

In my 17 years of experience there was not one patient who had any severe adverse side effects from Chelation and ECP therapy.

It's my considered opinion that chelation and ECP therapy do no harm to patients.