Objective: To determine the role of lifestyle behaviors in prehospital delays by determining the duration of application to hospital in patients diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction. Methods: The study is a cross-sectional descriptive study. The study was conducted in a university hospital between December 2016 and June 2017. Data on 229 patients with a definitive diagnosis of myocardial infarction were obtained using the “Patient Identification Form” and the “Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale-II.” Results: The application duration of the patients to the hospital was 2.9 ± 1.9 hours, and 42.4% of the patients were admitted to the hospital for 2 hours or longer. While male gender, pain radiating to the hand and arm, and favorable weather conditions when the complaints started shortened the time to apply to the hospital (P < .05); accompanying weakness with pain and help-seeking behavior by the patient's relatives prolonged the application period (P < .05). Those who applied to the hospital in less than 2 hours from the onset of the complaints scored higher on the Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale-II (P < .05). Conclusions: As a result of our findings, it can be said that one of the ways to shorten the hospital admission time by accelerating the decision-making process of the patient after myocardial infarction is to provide individuals with healthy lifestyle behaviors.