Objective To investigate the value of plan-do-check-act (PDCA) nursing pattern in the rehabilitation of patients with coronary heart disease admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) after surgery. Methods A total of 80 patients with coronary heart disease who were admitted to the ICU after surgery from June 2020 to February 2022 were enrolled as subjects and randomly divided into observation group and control group at a ratio of 1:1, with 40 patients in each group. The patients in the control group were given routine nursing, and those in the observation group were given PDCA nursing. The two groups were compared in terms of quality of life and the incidence rate of adverse events. Results Compared with the control group, the observation group had significantly higher scores of each dimension of quality of life (P<0.05) and a significantly lower incidence rate of adverse events (5.00% vs 20.00%, P<0.05). Conclusion Forthe patients with coronary heart disease after surgery in the ICU, PDCA nursing pattern can reduce the influence of hospitalization and treatment on quality of life and ensure the safety of nursing, and therefore, it holds promise for clinical application.