Objective: to investigate the patients' experience in the cardiac surgery preoperative period under the Heideggerian perspective.
Method: exploratory qualitative research. Twelve patients were interviewed, from March to April, 2016, while they waited for myocardial revascularization surgery or valve replacement surgery.
Results: the analysis of the speeches allowed finding two dimensions of the being-there-patient-waiting-for-cardiac surgery, two meanings of the beingness: being-there-in-a-reduced-world and being-there-in-a-unknown-world.
Conclusion: the experiences were related to alterations and limitations coming from the surgery, potential generators of anxiety, depression and existential conflicts in the cardiac surgery preoperative period. Reinforcing the care as being-with-the-other is suggested, considering the dimensions referred to and the patient's integrality.