Abstract:

Objective To understand the coping experience of patients in the cardiac intensive care unit on electrocardiogram（ECG） monitor alarm during hospitalization，to provide a theoretical basis for improving the experience of patients in CCU and improving the quality of nursing work. Methods From January to February 2025，15 patients in the cardiac intensive care unit of a tertiary hospital in Zhejiang Province were selected for semi-structured interviews using the phenomenological research method. The interview data were analyzed by Colaizzi’s seven-step analysis method. Results The analysis yielded 4 themes and 11 sub-themes：Patients had insufficient cognition of the alarm（limited knowledge of the cause of the alarm，ignoring or underestimating the significance of the alarm，lack of measures to deal with the alarm），patients presented personalized coping styles （negative coping，self-regulation，and active seeking help），the alarm caused double impact on patients（causing excessive reactions of the body to uncertainty and increasing the psychological burden of patients on their condition），and patients presented diversification nursing intervention needs（desire to be accompanied and comforted，want to understand the knowledge of monitoring equipment，and look forward to a more comfortable hospital experience）. Conclusion Medical staff should improve patients’ cognitive adjustment to the alarm，improve patients’ self-efficacy and ability to respond to the alarm，pay attention to the physiological and psychological effects of the alarm and take comprehensive intervention，strengthen the humanistic care of nurses for alarm management，optimize the ward environment，improve the ECG monitoring system and other measures to meet the diverse needs of patients.

Key words: Intensive Care Unit, Nursing Care, Alarm, ECG Monitor, Qualitative Research, Stress System Theory