A 69-year-old Texas man has filed a testosterone gel lawsuit against Axiron manufacturer Eli Lilly after suffering an aortic aneurysm about a year after beginning testosterone therapy.

Plaintiff Leroy W. was prescribed the drug for symptoms of low testosterone, or low-t,  in 2011. Leroy was healthy and had no history of blood clots or strokes before taking Axiron. Leroy’s decision to take Axiron was based on claims represented by Eli Lilly that Axiron had been clinically shown to safely and effectively raise testosterone levels, according to the testosterone drug lawsuit.

On Jan. 25, 2013, Leory suffered an aortic aneurysm, an enlargement of the aorta (the body’s main artery, which carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body) to more than 1.5 times its normal size. Because the section with the aneurysm is overstretched and weak, it can burst. If the aorta bursts, it can cause serious bleeding that can quickly lead to death, according to WebMD.

As a result of the aortic aneurysm, Leroy is now at an increased risk of additional cardiovascular disease, strokes, and death, according to the testosterone product lawsuit, which alleges negligence, product liability, failure to warn, breach of warranty and fraud. His wife, Patricia, is also suing for a loss of consortium claim.

Had Eli Lilly properly disclosed the risks associated with Axiron, Leroy maintains that he would have avoided the risk of a cardiovascular event by either not using testosterone at all, by severely limiting the dosage and length of use, and/or by closely monitoring the degree to which the drug was adversely affecting his health.

He has suffered severe and permanent physical and emotional injuries including an ascending aortic ectasia. He has also endured pain and suffering and has suffered economic loss, including incurring significant expenses for medical care and treatment and will continue to incur such expenses in the future, according to the low-t lawsuit.

Axiron is a hydroalcoholic gel containing testosterone that is applied to the underarms.

Leroy accuses Eli Lilly of falsely claiming that Axiron “is a safe and effective treatment for hypogonadism or ‘low testosterone,’ when in fact this drug causes serious medical problems, including life threatening cardiac events, strokes, and thrombolytic events.”

The pharmaceutical giant, the testosterone drug lawsuit continues, has engaged in aggressive direct-to-consumer and physician marketing and advertising campaigns for Axiron as well as “an aggressive, unbranded disease awareness campaign to alert men that they might be suffering from ‘low t.'”

Low-t drugs target men as young as their 30s who are purportedly suffering from erectile dysfunction, depression, fatigue and diminished sex drive, natural occurrences in males as they age.

The FDA recently issued a safety announcement that the agency was investigating the increased risk of stroke, heart attack, stroke and death in men who took FDA-approved testosterone products.

The agency cited two separate studies suggesting an increased risk of cardiovascular events among groups of men prescribed testosterone therapy drugs.

A National Cancer Institute study of 56,000 patients found that men over 65, as well as men younger than 65 with a history of heart disease, had twice as many heart attacks in the three months after beginning testosterone therapy compared to the year before taking the drugs.

Due to the influx of testosterone therapy lawsuits being filed across the country, a multi-district litigation (MDL) was established in June in the Northern District of Illinois for litigation involving low-t drugs Androgel, Testim and Axiron.