As a clinical trial director at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, she served as clinical trial director for the HERS Study (Heart and Estrogen-progestin Replacement Study). The trial was one of the first to focus on hormone replacement in women with heart disease.

She has published numerous articles on the benefits of risk reduction and the role of nurse case management in the treatment of coronary artery disease and lectures internationally on related subjects. She is active in the American Heart Association (AHA) and received the “Clinician of the Year” Award in 2009. She is past president of the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation and received their highest recognition, "The Award of Excellence," and a distinguished service award. She served as Editor in Chief of the Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation, and is a founder and past president of the Preventative Cardiovascular Nurses Association (PCNA), a national professional organization of nurses dedicated to the advancement of primary and secondary prevention.

She was awarded a fellowship in the American Academy of Nursing and received the "Wenger Award" for clinical contributions to women's health by WomenHeart, where she serves on the scientific advisory committee. Ms. Berra co-authored Heart Attack: Advice for Patients by Patients, which was honored by Yale University Press as one of the top ten books on heart disease for 2002.