As we age, the risk of cardiovascular disease increases. Some doctors are adopting alternative therapies — Plaquex and EDTA chelation — to help patients clear their circulatory systems of plaque and “bad” LDL cholesterol linked to heart disease.

Plaquex is a mix of phospholipids made from soybeans, developed in Europe and now quite popular there. The treatment is often used in conjunction with chelation therapy, which draws heavy metals, like lead, out of the body through the kidneys.

Plaquex is believed to reduce angina, decrease LDL cholesterol, increase “good” HDL cholesterol, lower lipoprotein A, improve sexual potency, lower high blood pressure, improve kidney function, and reduce homocysteine.

Chelation therapy was also largely dismissed by mainstream doctors for many years. But recent research — including National Institutes of Health-sponsored clinical trial led by Dr. Gervasio Lamas, chief cardiologist with the Columbia University Division of Cardiology at Mount Sinai — has found chelation can reduce the risk of a second heart attack and that Plaquex offers at least some cardiovascular benefits.