Aim. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of preoperative cardiac surgery nursing care education on anx-iety, quality of sleep, fasting time and cardiac medication usage in cardiac surgery patients.

Background. Cardiac surgery is one of the most important therapeutic approaches in patients with heart diseases. According to previous studies it is necessary to reduce the anxiety level and improve the quality of sleep the night before surgery, fasting according to standard protocols and continuing usage of cardiac medications.

Method. This study was a quasi-experimental trial in which patients were studied in two groups (before-training group and after-training group). One hundred cardiac surgery patients were selected based on in-clusion criteria as before-training group and evaluated in terms of anxiety level, quality of sleep, fasting time and cardiac medication usage in the night before surgery. Sampling lasted for 42 days. Then, all of the surgical nurses were trained individually for a week, and given pamphlets. Their educational content in-cluded the latest fasting protocols, non-pharmacological methods of reducing anxiety and improving quality of sleep and emphasizing on the importance of cardiac medication usage in the night before surgery. Then, another 100 patients were evaluated as the after-training group. Sampling from this group lasted for 38 days. The tools included demographic sheet and Spielberger anxiety questionnaire. Data were analyzed with SPSS software.

Findings. The findings of this study showed a statistically significant difference in anxiety level between before-training group and after-training group (P<0.0001). Also, there was a significant statistical differ-ence in quality of sleep between two groups (P=0.004). But, there was not a statistically significant differ-ence in fasting hours and cardiac medication usage between two groups.

Conclusion. According to the findings, educating preoperative cardiac surgery nursing care decreased anxi-ety level and improved quality of sleep in after-training group. But this intervention neither decreased fast-ing hours nor increased continuing cardiac medication usage in after-training group.