Aaron Hartman, MDFunctional Medicine Specialist | Clinical Researcher

Adverse Drug Reactions May Be the 4th Leading Cause of Death — A Third of Drugs Are Mitochon #shorts

22 Sept 2026 · 2 min

Watch on YouTube

2:16

In this short, Dr. Aaron Hartman warns that adverse drug reactions (ADRs) may be the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for over 100,000 fatalities annually. He explains that roughly one‑third of all marketed drugs are mitochondrial toxicants, which can impair cellular energy production and trigger a cascade of health problems such as brain fog, fatigue, weight gain, neuropathy, diabetes, hormone dysregulation, and even death. Hartman highlights how polypharmacy—patients taking 12‑20 medications—exposes individuals to multiple mitochondrial toxins, creating a domino effect where one drug’s side effect leads to another medication being prescribed, further compounding health risks (e.g., diuretics causing low potassium, leading to palpitations; beta‑blockers inducing insulin resistance and diabetes). He critiques the healthcare system’s blind spot regarding drug side effects, noting that physicians often prescribe medications without sufficient awareness of their toxic potential. The video ends with a call for viewers to share personal experiences of medication‑induced harm to raise awareness and foster community education.

Chapters

This is potentially the 4th leading cause of death in the United States. Symptoms can be from brain fog, fatigue, weight gain, mood changes, and ultimately death. What am I talking about? I'm talking about adverse drug reactions. This is something that we talk about often, actually, in the traditional healthcare world. And we actually have these drug lists of things we're not supposed to give to elderly people, for example. Because of the side effects. Yet it's actually the 4th leading cause of death, over 100,000 deaths a year related to adverse drug reactions. So why would this be? Strangely enough, actually, when I did my functional medicine training, there was actually a textbook on side effects from pharmaceuticals. About a third of all drugs in the market right now are actually mitochondrial toxicants, which means they're toxic to this powerhouse of your cells. And that can lead to a whole host of issues from neuropathy, developing diabetes, brain fog, Weight gain, hormone dysregulation. So, the reality is medications themselves are a risk factor for a whole bunch of things. So, why is this a blind spot? Because physicians routinely give these out like candy. I remember when I used to do my hospital work, people would come to the hospital on 12 to 20 different medications. Well, if 30% of all these drugs are toxic to your mitochondria, guess what? These people are on multiple of these medications. And they can range from antibiotics to cholesterol medications to Antidepressants can actually be toxic to your body cells or block your liver detoxification. Be aware that medications can be a cause of some of your symptoms. So talk with your doctor. What are you taking? What medications? Could there be medication side effects? It's interesting how some medications can actually lead to other issues like a diuretic for blood pressure lead to low potassium, which leads to palpitations. You add on a beta blocker, that leads to insulin resistance, which leads to diabetes. You start on a diabetic medication. This is a series that I've seen play out over years in my clinic, and it's one of the many adverse drug reactions that occur. So this is one of the many blind spots in our healthcare system. If you or a loved one has actually had a medication side effect that's harmed them or even killed them, I'd love to hear below, whether it's ciprofloxacin getting floxed, statins causing neuropathy and diabetes, antibiotics causing C. diff colitis, whatever it is, I'd love to hear below. This is how we actually educate each other and share with each other and get this information out there to help as many people as possible. So take care, and I'd love to hear from you.