Purpose: The purpose of this study was to understand and describe the every day life experience of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) during the recovery period after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) using a qualitative approach. Methods: Twelve patients with AMI participated in this study. Their age ranged from 42 to 75. The data were collected by individual in-depth interviews and all interviews were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. The transcribed data were analyzed

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... using traditional qualitative content analysis. Results: Six sub-themes emerged from the data as follows: Getting to know about illness, getting motivated for health behavior, putting an effort into health behavioral change, having difficulties maintaining health behavior, setting up coping strategies for health behavior and having a need for a tailored education. The results of this study showed how the health behaviors of patients with AMI are related to their every day life experiences. Conclusion: The results of this study could help health professionals to better understand patients with AMI and design effective educational interventions to improve their health behaviors.