Background: Acute myocardial infarction threatens patients' psychological balance and causes varied coping needs.
Aim: The aim was to describe factors that influence patients' coping with acute MI during hospitalization.
Methods: The data were obtained by theme interviews from 28 myocardial infarction patients and analyzed by the grounded theory method.
Results: The core category "Coping with myocardial infarction: Seeking lost control" was found to include two main categories: factors supporting coping and factors interfering with coping. The factors were related to patients, conditions and interaction.
Conclusion: Nurses need to become aware of their patients' needs to maintain a sense of control over their situation. They also need to focus on empowering counselling and mental support, and assist in patient-family interaction. Updating education on the recognition of depression and on the factors that affect coping is indicated.
Relevance to clinical practice: The findings of this study can be used in health care education and in nursing practice when organizing counselling and support interventions for MI patients.