A new lawsuit claims that the testosterone gel AndroGel caused the plaintiff to suffer heart problems — a potential side effect that he claims the manufacturer knew could occur but never mentioned in its advertisements for AndroGel or on the product label.

Plaintiff Steve Marino was a 50-year-old property manager in St. Louis, Mo. when he started taking AndroGel to help with his “Low T” levels. As an over-the-counter (OTC) product, no prescription was necessary for this testosterone gel, which is manufactured by AbbVie.

Marino claims in the AndroGel lawsuit that it was “for symptoms he attributed to low testosterone after viewing Defendants’ advertisements. … The AndroGel he consumed caused physical and emotional impairment which affected his personal and professional life. These impairments included, but were not limited to transient ischemic attack [‘mini stroke’]. Prior to using AndroGel Plaintiff had no history of these cardiac events.”

Marino filed the AndroGel lawsuit on Feb. 4, 2014. He’s one of several men who have come forward recently to allege that testosterone gels were more dangerous than the warnings suggested. According to new research, testosterone side effects can increase the risk of heart attack, stroke and death by as much as 30%.

According to Marino’s testosterone gel complaint, “Defendants purposefully downplayed, understated and outright ignored the health hazards and risks associated with using AndroGel. Defendants deceived potential AndroGel users by relaying positive information through the press, including testimonials from retired professional athletes, and manipulating hypogonadism statistics to suggest widespread disease prevalence, while downplaying known adverse and serious health effects. Defendants concealed material relevant information from potential AndroGel users and minimized user and prescriber concern regarding the safety of AndroGel.”

Without the full information about potential testosterone side effects, Marino says he couldn’t have made an informed decision that may impact his health. “In particular, in the warnings Defendants give in their commercials, online and print advertisements, Defendants fail to mention any potential cardiac or stroke side effects and falsely represents that AbbVie adequately tested AndroGel for all likely side effects.”

Marino alleges that he tried AndroGel after feeling swayed by ads that the drug was safe and effective. He points to the persuasive ads, stating “AbbVie’s advertising program sought to create the image and belief by consumers and their physicians that the use of AndroGel was a safe method of alleviating their symptoms, had few side effects and would not interfere with their daily lives, even though Defendants knew or should have known these to be false, and even though the Defendants had no reasonable grounds to believe them to be true.”

Marino also says that the company knew about the more serious risks, but chose to downplay them in order to keep sales figures up.

“AndroGel may produce undesirable side effects to patients who use the drug, including but not limited to, myocardial infarction, stroke, and death. In some patient populations, AndroGel use may increase the incidence of myocardial infarctions and death by over 500%. In addition to the above, AndroGel has been linked to several severe and life changing medical disorders in both users and those who come into physical contact with users or the unwashed clothes of someone who applied AndroGel. Patients taking AndroGel may experience enlarged prostates and increased serum prostate-specific antigen levels.”

Low T is something many men struggle with as they enter their golden years, and there are possibly other treatments available that may not pose such a risk according to Marino. He says that if he’d been made aware of the complete testosterone gel hazards, he wouldn’t have taken such a big risk.

A Long History

AndroGel in particular has been marketed for nearly 15 years in the United States.

“Defendants’ marketing strategy beginning in 2000 has been to aggressively market and sell their products by misleading potential users about the prevalence and symptoms of low testosterone and by failing to protect users from serious dangers that Defendants knew or should have known to result from use of its products,” the AndroGel lawsuit states.

Marino suggests in his testosterone gel complaint that AbbVie specifically targeted vulnerable populations looking for an easy fix.

“Defendants successfully marketed AndroGel by undertaking a ‘disease awareness’ marketing campaign. This campaign sought to create a consumer perception that low testosterone is prevalent among U.S. men and that symptoms previously associated with other physical and mental conditions, such as aging, stress, depression, and lethargy were actually attributable to Low-T.”