Testosterone Widows File AndroGel Claims

Toronto, ONMarilyn’s husband died from a stroke at the age of 58. Connie’s husband died last year - he was only 56. Neither man had any history of heart problems, but they had both been taking AndroGel, a testosterone replacement therapy, for several years.

“Just prior to my husband’s passing we were told that he had a heart condition,” says Connie. “He had previously seen our family doctor for high blood pressure and had a stress test. We couldn’t believe it: there was no family history of cardio problems and he was in great shape - he worked out regularly.”

Marilyn’s husband had also been diagnosed with high blood pressure. He too had a number of diagnostic tests a few years ago but nothing was untoward. “The only meds my husband took were blood pressure pills and recently he was prescribed AndroGel,” says Marilyn. “He went to ER twice earlier this year, complaining of a pain in his chest. The coroner wrote that his cause of death was Coronary Heart Disease, which was quite a shock because he’d never had a heart condition. I think AndroGel was the cause of his death.”

Testosterone studies

The jury is still out regarding testosterone therapy and the increased risk of heart attack. A recent study, which was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, reported that testosterone therapy didn't increase the risk of heart attack. And according to the Wall Street Journal (July 4, 2014), it even lowered the risk of heart attack by about 30 percent in the group of men judged most likely to have one based on other factors.

However, another 2014 study said that testosterone therapy might increase the risk of a heart attack in men age 65 and older, as well as in younger men who have a history of heart disease. One year earlier another determined a higher frequency of death and heart problems in men who had coronary artery disease and received testosterone therapy. And in 2010, a testosterone therapy trial in older men was stopped due to many of the participants having a higher frequency of heart problems than did the men receiving the placebo.

Testosterone lawsuits

So what do these studies mean for people like Marilyn and Connie? Testosterone lawsuits are still being filed. In Canada, a class action against Abbott Laboratories Ltd., Abbott Products Inc., Abbott Products Canada Inc., and Abbvie Products LLC (“Abbott”), the makers and sellers of AndroGel, was brought in June 2014.

And a family from Virginia recently filed a testosterone wrongful death lawsuit against the AndroGel maker. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah against Actavis Pharma, Watson Laboratories, Inc. and Anda, Inc., alleges that Alvin Harris used the Androderm testosterone patch from 2005 to 2012, which caused him to develop a blood clot in his leg in 2011. In 2012, he suffered a number of strokes, which caused his death.