 The "New York Times" reported in 2003 that internal documents from MuscleTech indicated that the company had buried studies showing that Hydroxycut was ineffective, covered up evidence of cardiac side effects, and even tampered with the documents it submitted as evidence in a lawsuit in Oklahoma.In 2004, the FDA banned ephedra after 155 deaths from heart attack and stroke were attributed to ephedra, including the death of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler.It was the first banning of a dietary supplement by the FDA.