Spiritual Experience of Heart Attack Patients: A Qualitative Study

Introduction: There are few studies on the spiritual experiences of myocardial infarction patients in the light of cultural context. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explain the spiritual experiences of patients during heart attack. Method: This was a qualitative study. Nine (۴ women, ۵ men) myocardial infarction patients were interviewed (in-depth interview) in the CCUs of three hospitals in Shiraz. In addition, seven nurses participated in a focus group. Data gathering and analysis were performed simultaneously and continued until data saturation. All the interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis method was used for data analysis. Results: The participants’ spiritual experiences were categorized into four themes and ۱۱ subthemes. The main themes were trust in God, struggling with the heart, family (soothing and stress-inducing), and help-seeking. Conclusion: According to the results heart attack can bring spirituality in greater focus. Therefore, in order to deliver holistic care, health care providers must be concerned with their patients’ spiritual experiences and needs, especially in life-threatening events

Keywords:

Spiritual experience , Spirituality , Heart attack , Holistic care , Qualitative study