Dr Blanche Cupido is a senior clinical and interventional cardiologist practicing at Groote Schuur Hospital and UCT Private Academic Hospital. She has a particular interest in adult congenital heart disease, valvular heart disease and heart failure and is also passionate about medical- and cardiology-specific education.
Dr Cupido received her medical training in South Africa and abroad. She graduated from the University of Cape Town (MBChB) in 2001, obtained her Fellowship to the College of Physicians (FCP) in 2009 and her a Certificate in Cardiology from the Colleges of Medicine of SA in 2013. She went on to complete an MPhil in Cardiology at UCT. In 2016-2017, she completed a Fellowship in Adult Congenital Heart Disease at the Leeds General Infirmary Hospital, UK (2017), and her Certificate in Advanced Heart Failure Management from the European Society of Cardiology and University of Zurich in 2018. She has participated in the Women Transforming Leadership Programme from Said Business School, University of Oxford (2019), among other qualifications.
She has returned to Cape Town to establish a dedicated Adult Congenital Heart Disease unit, which was formally established in 2017.
Dr Cupido has published several peer-reviewed articles and lectured at major local and international conferences over the years, contributing to the medical community’s knowledge of her field. In March 2020, she was one of only five international recipients of the inaugural Women as One’s Escalator Awards aimed at catalysing qualified female cardiologists’ careers.
Dr Cupido currently serves as the President of SA Heart, International Society of Adult Congenital Heart Disease’s (ISACHD) Regional Ambassador: Africa and Section Editor of the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Journal Watch for the Congenital Heart International Professionals (CHIP) Network. Right now, she also lectures at her alma mater, the University of Cape Town.