Researchers have discovered that a change in the appearance of pills may disrupt use.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not require that pills for the same heart conditions maintain consistency in color, shape and size across various brands. Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) have discovered that such variations in medications are linked to patients ceasing their post-heart attack medications.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 720,000 Americans suffer a heart attack each year, with 515,000 of these attacks being their first.

Aaron S. Kesselheim, MD, JD, MPH, senior investigator of the study and assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics at BWH, believes that these variations in pill appearance may pose serious public health implications.

“After patients have a first heart attack, guidelines mandate treatment with an array of long-term medications and stopping these medications may ultimately increase morbidity and mortality. Medications are essential to the treatment of cardiovascular disease and our study found that pill appearance plays an important role in ensuring patients are taking the generic medications that they need,” said Kesselheim in a statement.

The researchers strongly believe that doctors and pharmacists need to inform their patients about the possibility of these variations in pill appearance, and reassure patients that these drugs are interchangeable regardless of what they look like.

The findings of the study are published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.