Primary percutaneous coronary intervention for acute myocardial infarction: Exploring the experiences of patients, carers and cardiac nurses

A narrative inquiry approach was used to compare and contrast the experiences of ten patients who received Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PPCI) for Acute Myocardial Infarction. Eight carers and ten cardiac nurses in one Heart Attack Centre were also recruited. The purpose of the study was to understand what mattered to these individuals from their different perspectives. Patients and carers were interviewed within 14 days of hospital discharge. Vignettes were developed from participants’ direct quotations to convey their experiences of different events surrounding the PPCI. Two artificial stories from patients and carers were presented in the nurses’ interviews. Using Labov’s structural analysis, participants’ narratives portrayed the travelling experiences, routes and journeys encountered. The emotional responses depicted how patients felt when they were ill and then suddenly well and of how carers were initially helpless and then able to manage. Different to previous literature on the experience of PPCI was the inclusion of nurses’ experiences. Their narratives revealed a preoccupation with making patients well again. An intriguing finding was the manner in which nurses expected sick patients to respond to their caring actions. When patients were ill, the nurses’ role was clearly defined. When patients felt well, their caring actions were fraught with difficulty. The nurses’ emotional responses provide new understandings about how nurses actively managed the challenges and rewards of working in a Heart Attack Centre. The voices of the patients, carers and nurses heard in this research revealed the compelling and diverse ways in which strategies were taken to protect the self or others from harm and the reasons for these active behaviours. This study has drawn attention to the ways patients, carers and nurses work together and against each other. These experiences will be useful for improving nursing practice