Stopped into see my doc to review the mandatory ECG and was told that it showed a couple of irregularities and that he wouldn't sign off on it until I saw a cardiologist and got an OK from the expert. Darabound, the race organizers, state that the ECG must be no more the 30 days from the start of the race. My flight for Morocco is a week prior to the race so I had three weeks to get the medical paperwork in order. Turns out that isn't enough time for us Canadians to make it through the normal health care system.
It took one week for the ECG to get from the lab to the doctors office. His office called me the next day to let me know that my cardiologist appointment was in April (My flight is on Mar 29 and the race starts Apr 5). The doc told me he'd try to rush the appointment but it turns out he never even mentioned it to the receptionist who makes the booking. I told her of my plight and she managed to get me an appointment for Mar 26. That was still way too late so I started to check out private clinics and called the cardiologist's office directly. The clinic could be me on Mar 21 - for about $1000. Luckily, before I booked I heard from the cardiologist's office that he'd agreed to squeeze me in early - also on the 21st.
Dr Singh took my pulse and blood pressure, looked over the ECG, and told me everything seemed OK for someone like me - training a lot for a long race. He had me do a stress test (ECG while running on a treadmill) just to be sure and that was also OK. So, nothing to worry about. He assured me he'd dictate his notes that afternoon (since he'd already moved my appointment in order to help me get through the system in time for the race). I found out afterwards that it can take up to a week for the results to get from the hospital to the doctor's office. I spoke to 3 people at the hostpital and no one could tell me just
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