Purpose: This study was conducted in order to examine the effects of death anxiety, family support, and knowledge of advance directives on the attitudes toward advance directives of aged patients with a coronary artery disease. Methods: The study subjects included 187 coronary artery diseased patients over the age of 65 who had received inpatient and outpatient treatment at a general hospital located in ‘D’ Metropolitan City. Data collection was conducted from July 8, 2022 to August 31, 2022. Results: The general characteristics of subjects who showed statistically significant differences in their attitude toward advance directives were as follows. The attitudes toward advance directives of subjects who were high school graduates and college graduates or higher, had a religion, and regarded their subjective health status as ‘low’, and had experienced thoughts about their own deaths were positive. In addition, the results showed a statistically negative correlation with death anxiety, while a positive correlation with family support and knowledge of advance directives. The results of regression analysis showed that the lower the death anxiety, the more religious, the higher the knowledge of advance directives, the higher family support, and the more ‘low’ the subjective health status, toward advance directives. The explanatory power was 31.3%. Conclusion: In order to improve the attitude of elderly coronary patients toward advance directives, reduction of death anxiety, strengthening of family support, and providing education regarding advance directives is required.

• 사전연명의료의향서, 태도, 관상동맥질환, 죽음 불안, 가족지지 Advance Directives, Attitude, Coronary Artery Disease, Death Anxiety, Family Support