A man who suffered a heart attack has claimed he was initially misdiagnosed by a fast-response paramedic who told him he had indigestion.

Tony Schorfield, 48, of Nichol Lane, Bromley, had chest pains and collapsed in his road around 7.45pm on July 22.

He had drunk a bottle and a half of wine.

A passerby called an ambulance at 7.55pm and a fast-response paramedic turned up in a Volvo.

The paramedic carried out an electrocardiogram (ECG) to check Mr Schorfield’s heart’s rhythm and electrical activity. He also took his blood pressure which was 170 over 121.

Mr Schorfield claims the paramedic told him that he had indigestion, to which he replied that if it was indigestion he did not want to go to hospital.

The paramedic then cancelled Mr Schorfield’s ambulance and sent him home.

London Ambulance Service said the paramedic was with Mr Schorfield for around 90 minutes.

After Mr Schorfield returned home the pain eased off slightly but by lunchtime the next day it was building again.

By 7.30pm Mr Schorfield says that he was lying on the floor in agony.

At around 11pm he says he drove himself to Princess Royal University Hospital in Farnborough.

After being told in casualty that he was having a heart attack Mr Schorfield was transferred to Kings College Hospital to receive treatment.

Mr Schorfield said his heart has been permanently damaged by the attack.

He said: “It has devastated my life from this point onwards. I just don’t understand when you are having a heart attack how a paramedic can miss that.

“My girlfriend has a very complicated mental health condition that needs a lot of care which is stressful for me and I won’t be able to do that for her.

“The pain was unbelievable, it was out of this world. How can you have someone like that on the street, who can’t tell a heart attack from indigestion?”

Julie Ward, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), confirmed a blood pressure of 170 over 121 was dangerously high.

She said: “If a blood pressure reading is dangerously high, immediate medical attention is required.

"When a person’s blood pressure is this high, they are (at) risk of a heart attack or stroke therefore the advice would be to call 999 immediately.”

A spokesperson from Kings College Hospital confirmed Mr Schorfield was admitted to the hospital having a heart attack and was treated appropriately.

Mr Schorfield has complained to London Ambulance Service and is waiting to hear back from them following an investigation.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We are sorry that Mr Schofield is not happy with the standard of care he received and for any distress he has experienced.

“We are aware that he has contacted the ambulance service and we are looking further into exactly what happened.”