Gender differences and fears in patients awaiting coronary artery bypass grafting

• The study aimed at ascertaining the gender differences and fears among patients awaiting coronary artery bypass grafting.• Data were collected using a mailed questionnaire from patients (n=207) scheduled for coronary artery bypass grafting at one hospital. Intensity of fear was measured on a 10‐point scale including 12 objects of fear.• The results showed that demographic data, lifestyle and functional capacity differed between the sexes. Patients’ fears differed with respect to their objects and intensity, with women reporting more intense fears. Men also had fears, but the objects of fear differed from those in women. Apart from gender, the intensity of fear was associated with physical exercise, emotional problems and depression.• Nursing interventions could be developed to meet the different needs for information and support, especially among women but also among men, to relieve their fears during the wait for coronary artery bypass grafting.