Background: Annually, coronary artery disease leads to death of many people around the world and has a direct relationship with patients’ job stress. It seems that using appropriate coping styles can reduce stress in stressful occupations such as military staff. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between occupational stress and problem-oriented coping style in military staff with acute coronary syndrome.

Materials and methods: In a descriptive – correlational study performed in a military heart hospital between 2015 and 2016, 195 military personnel with acute coronary syndrome were recruited with simple random sampling method. The job stress questionnaire and coping styles questionnaire (by Endler and Parker) were used to collect data. SPSS software (version 16) and statistical tests including Kolmogrov-Smirnov, Pearson’s correlation, and linear regression tests were used to analyze data. A p value less than 0.05 was considered significant.

Results: The results showed that 52.8% of the subjects had moderate job stress. Pearson’s correlation test showed a significant inverse relationship between job stress and problem-oriented coping style (r=-0.712, p=0.001).

Conclusion:  The use of problem-oriented coping style is associated with job stress reduction. Therefore, it is recommended that effective coping styles can be included in training programs of military staff to deal with stressful situations.