A 15-Minute audio break: could guided imagery soothe heart patients?

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Age 18 years or older. * Diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome, specifically ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) or non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). * Admitted to and monitored in the cardiac intensive care unit. * Expected to remain in the cardiac intensive care unit for at least two nights and to be transferred to a ward or discharged after the two-day study period. * Clinically and hemodynamically stable, with no ongoing or increasing chest pain, significant respiratory distress, unstable vital signs, symptomatic serious arrhythmia, or need for urgent invasive intervention. * Conscious, oriented to person, place, and time, and able to communicate verbally. * Able to understand and speak Turkish. * No hearing impairment that would prevent listening to the guided imagery audio recording through headphones. * Sufficient cognitive ability to understand and respond to the study questionnaires. * Willing to participate and able to provide written informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: * Diagnosis of unstable angina pectoris. * Confusion, delirium, or any alteration in consciousness that interferes with communication. * Diagnosed dementia or cognitive impairment that prevents understanding study instructions. * Hearing loss that prevents following the audio instructions through headphones. * Inability to communicate verbally. * Clinical or hemodynamic instability, including ongoing chest pain, significant dyspnea, hemodynamic instability, symptomatic serious arrhythmia, or need for urgent intervention. * Receiving invasive mechanical ventilation or respiratory support that interferes with communication. * Receiving sedative treatment at a level that interferes with consciousness or communication. * Active psychosis, severe agitation, or an active psychiatric disorder that prevents following the guided imagery instructions. * Expected cardiac intensive care unit stay of less than two nights. * Refusal to participate or inability to provide informed consent.