Abstract

Background: Anxiety is one of the most common psychological problems in cardiac patients. Despite evidence of positive effect of family participation in patients care plan, this role is still under question on the cardiac care unit (CCU). This study was aimed to investigate the effect of family presence on acute coronary patient's anxiety. Methods: The quasi-experimental study was conducted on 60 patients with acute coronary syndrome admitted to the CCU in Imam Reza hospital in Eslamshahr in 2017. The method of sampling was convenience. The Spielberger questionnaire were used to data collection. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, Chi Square test, and Independent-sample T test. The level of significance was less than 0.0. Results: The mean and standard deviation scores of participants was 52.88±10.73, respectively. At the start of the study, the mean of anxiety in the control group was more than intervention group (47.80 versus 40.73, P= 0.042). The mean of anxiety in third day in the intervention group was significantly less than the control group (33.13 versus 44.63, P=0.001). Conclusion: Anxiety is a common problem in patients hospitalized in the cardiac care unit and family presence can help to decrease this anxiety.