Cheryl C. Kurer, MD, FAAP, FACC

At the time Cheryl Kurer, MD, was choosing a medical specialty, a new drug was available to stabilize the heartbeats of newborn infants with life-threatening heart disease until life-sustaining surgeries — also newly developed — could be performed. She was hooked.

“The fields of congenital heart surgery, noninvasive imaging and interventional cardiology were poised to take quantum leaps forward,” Dr. Kurer says.

During her years of practice, she has relished being able to help her patients benefit from those advances.

The management of cardiac arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat, is especially rewarding to Dr. Kurer. Arrhythmias vary in cause and severity, and treatment options range from pharmaceuticals to electrical devices to surgery.

Diagnosing children’s heart conditions, identifying the appropriate treatments, and watching her patients improve make pediatric cardiology a fulfilling vocation for Dr. Kurer.

Dr. Kurer continues to welcome new leaps forward, as well: “The field is advancing to employ less invasive techniques for managing congenital heart disease whenever possible,” she says.

Practicing at CHOP means that Dr. Kurer can always offer her patients the most advanced treatments available.

Children with heart disease often need to be monitored and treated throughout their lives, which gives Dr. Kurer the opportunity to build long-lasting relationships with her patients and their families. Maintaining these relationships is an important part of her practice.

“I want every family to feel that their child and the entire family is fully supported throughout the diagnosis and management of their child's heart disease,” Dr. Kurer says. “We have a large team of healthcare providers who are wholly dedicated to this process.”