A couple arrived home from a shopping trip to find a builder dead in their driveway.
Alper Guler, of Egerton Road, was working on the property in Corwall Avenue, Blackpool, on the morning of May 7 earlier this year. The 41-year-old, originally from Turkey, had recently visited his GP after complaining of chest pain and breathlessness.
Despite suffering from these symptoms for a couple of years, the doctor believed he was suffering from heartburn and prescribed indigestion medication - this is due to the fact Alper suggested he noticed the pain more after eating spring onions. However, only two days after visiting the GP, he suffered a severe heart attack and died, Lancs Live reports.
Read more: Jilted trucker threw milk, juice and eggs around his ex-partner's home in bizarre rampage
An inquest into his death was held at Blackpool Town Hall this week with Dr Sameer Shaktawat conducting a post mortem after Alper's death. He noticed scarring on the walls of the left ventricle of Alper's heart, suggesting he had suffered at least three heart attacks previously.
"One of the arteries supplying blood to the heart showed extensive narrowing," the pathologist said. "It was very blocked and he had a massive heart attack.
"This isn't the heart you would expect to find in a 41-year-old man. There were a lot of blockages and evidence of previous cardiac events."
The inquest heard how Alper was a smoker and slightly overweight - although not obese. The pathologist advised that Alper's family, who had flown from Turkey for the inquest, should get themselves checked for any genetic heart conditions.
Dr Shajil, the GP who saw Alper two days prior to his death complaining of pain his left arm, said she 'interpreted these as two different sources of pain'. She had arranged for Alper to have a chest x-ray within a few weeks and sent him home with medication for heartburn.
Assistant Coroner Patrick Cassidy asked the doctor why she had not considered that Alper's pain could be related to his heart, especially because of how long he had been experiencing it. "Both myself and the family would like an explanation of why you sent him for a chest x-ray," he added.
"Mr Guler did voice worries about cancer but I did say I wasn't concerned about that," Dr Shajil said. "The symptoms were, to me, more suggestive of gastro-intestinal problems. He described a burning pain in his chest and the only thing he could link it to was that it came on when he ate spring onions."
Alper's family, speaking through a friend who translated proceedings for them, asked Dr Shajil if she deemed him to be a hypochondriac. "Absolutely not," she replied.
The coroner is expected to publish his conclusion tomorrow.
Read next:
- Woman 'punched in the head' in VIP section at Ne-Yo concert as she brands event 'worst she's ever been to'
- "I've got nothing": People left in limbo for years after sinking deposits into unbuilt apartments in Salford Quays
- The Greater Manchester park with riverside views and hidden ruins
- Patients at Greater Manchester NHS mental health unit 'filmed being subjected to abuse', BBC's Panorama claims
- The most complained about roads for potholes in Greater Manchester
