Bob Mulvihill is an ornithologist – meaning he studies every aspect of birds. This includes their migration patterns and determining if they travel through the Pittsburgh area on the way to their intended destination.
For one of his studies of the migration of a small species of owl, Bob had to walk several miles over the course of the night. These long, dark trips weren’t uncommon and had never been a problem, but on this occasion, Bob was having trouble catching his breath.
“I would take about 30 steps on a slight incline and have to stop,” Bob recalls. “I became increasingly reliant on my team of volunteers to do the work.”
The Pleasant Hills native says the bird walks he often enjoyed as a leisure activity became limited – not as far, fast, or frequent as usual. He even discovered restrictions on seemingly routine tasks.
“I couldn’t mow my lawn or walk the dogs. Even simply walking the uphill driveway between where I would park my car and the front door became noticeably difficult.”
The Path to UPMC
In the summer of 2023, Bob made an appointment to see Josh Levenson, MD, a cardiologist with UPMC, and underwent several types of imaging, including a stress test to monitor his blood flow during exercise.
Dr. Levenson consulted with a fellow cardiologist, Timothy Wong, MD, and they advised Bob to wear a Holter monitor so they could record his heart’s rhythm for an extended period of time.
The result was a diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a heart condition characterized by abnormal thickening of the heart muscle, often in the left ventricle. Almost immediately, Genise Green, CRNP, was added to the care team.
“They wasted no time in making sure I got the treatment I needed,” Bob explains.
Medical Intervention
Bob was told that surgery is often required to treat HCM, but at UPMC Presbyterian, he had another option. After hosting several clinical trials, the hospital became the first site in Pennsylvania to prescribe mavacamten, a medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2022 that works to relax heart muscles.
Bob started taking mavacamten in July 2023, making him one of the first patients in western Pennsylvania to receive the medication. He soon reported experiencing significant improvement in the symptoms that brought him to UPMC. Nearly a year later, Bob says he’s still very satisfied.
“The positive changes are beyond my wildest dreams. I no longer have to wonder if I can go on walks or take hikes with my friends and family. I don’t have to be a smaller version of who I am. I’ve truly been given my personal and professional lives back, and I couldn’t be more happy and grateful for that.”
Regulating the “Absent-Minded Professor”
Bob knows he hasn’t traveled the road to recovery alone and is incredibly thankful for the hypertrophic cardiomyopathy program at UPMC Presbyterian.
“I’m a bit of an absent-minded professor,” the 65-year-old says with a laugh. “So, I’m glad the team at UPMC runs this program so methodically. They call and check on me, make sure my medication is filled, assist with the appointments for my ongoing echocardiograms, and do a great job of keeping an open line of communication. Everything has happened exactly how they said it would.”
The HCM program at UPMC Presbyterian is an HCMA (Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association) Center of Excellence, one of only 48 locations with that designation in the United States.
Bob’s treatment and results may not be representative of all similar cases.
