A Louisiana man has filed a federal lawsuit against pharmaceutical giant Pfizer for negligence, fraud and a litany of other charges, accusing the company of falsely marketing a testosterone replacement drug for men without warning that it may increase the risk of blood clots, heart attack and stroke.

After seeing commercials about low testosterone, 66-year-old George Phillips, who had a history of heart disease, visited his urologist in June 2013 to find out whether his testosterone levels were low, according to the testosterone lawsuit.

He was prescribed Depo-Testosterone, commonly known as Depo-t, a testosterone shot manufactured by Pfizer. Three months after he began taking Depo-t, Phillips felt chest pains and went to the emergency room, where he learned he had suffered a myocardial infarction. Low testosterone drugs like Depo-t have been linked in an increased risk of heart problems caused by testosterone side effects.

According to the Depo-Testosterone lawsuit, the FDA has not approved testosterone replacement therapy drugs as treatment for low testosterone, which is not even a medically recognized disease. Decreased testosterone levels are a direct result of the aging process. Male testosterone levels typically begin declining beginning at age 30.

Pfizer, the testosterone lawsuit alleges, orchestrated a national media blitz purporting to convince men that they suffered from low testosterone when in fact the symptoms –feeling sad, grump, tired, as well as weight gain — are indicative of any number of conditions. As a result of the massive ad campaign, “millions of men flocked to their doctors” to try to feel younger and increase their libido.

The marketing of Depo-T was a “mass uncontrolled experiment,” according to the lawsuit, which accuses Pfizer of promoting the product as a “lifestyle drug” to treat erectile dysfunction.

U.S. doctors write 5.3 million prescriptions annually for so-called “Low T” treatments. In addition to injections, testosterone replacement drugs come in gels, creams, patches and pills.

Phillips’ lawsuit cites a doctor who calls the low-testosterone craze “disease-mongering” that has resulted in Depo-t sales increasing to more than $130 million annually and are projected to reach $5 billion by 2017. Pfizer deceptively misrepresented to the public and physicians that Depo-t was safe and free from serious side effects, according to Phillips’ lawsuit.

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 drug.

Testosterone Injury Lawsuits On the Rise

Dozens of testosterone injury lawsuits have been filed by men who claim these drugs caused them to suffer serious heart problems, stroke, and other complications.