ALBUQUERQUE, April 22, 2026 - For Martha S. Porter, the fight against heart disease and stroke isn't theoretical - it's personal.
After losing her father to a massive heart attack, watching her mother survive a stroke, supporting her husband through cardiac arrest and managing high blood pressure herself, Porter understands how quickly cardiovascular disease can change a family forever. That lived experience is what drives her volunteer leadership with the American Heart Association and what now brings her to a new role as chair of the 2026 New Mexico Heart Walk and 5K Run, set for Sept.
19. "If by bringing awareness I can save one life, then my volunteer work would have been worth it," Porter said.
Porter is leading a year‑round statewide effort to engage companies, organizations and families in raising lifesaving funds and expanding CPR education, a central focus of this year's Heart Walk campaign. According to the American Heart Association , nine in 10 people who experience cardiac arrest outside the hospital do not survive, and more than half do not receive bystander CPR.
Martha S.
Porter, a longstanding New Mexico banking professional and community volunteer, has been named chair of the 2026 New Mexico Heart Walk and 5K Run, scheduled for Sept.
19 at Avanyu Plaza at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center.
The announcement frames Porter’s new role as driven by extensive personal exposure to cardiovascular emergencies: the death of her father from a massive heart attack, her mother’s survival after a stroke, her husband’s experience with cardiac arrest, and her own management of high blood pressure.
Those experiences are presented by Porter as motivating her volunteer engagement with the American Heart Association (AHA) and informing her priorities for the statewide Heart Walk campaign.
Porter is leading a year‑round effort aimed at engaging businesses, community organizations and families across New Mexico to raise funds and expand public education in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
The 2026 campaign emphasizes bystander readiness: increasing the number of people who can recognize cardiac arrest and perform immediate CPR prior to arrival of emergency medical services.
The AHA’s data cited in the source highlights a central rationale for this focus: a majority of people who experience cardiac arrest outside hospital settings do not survive, with more than half not receiving bystander CPR, and immediate CPR materially improving chances of survival.
Under Porter’s leadership, the New Mexico Heart Walk is described as continuing to prioritize creation of “a community of lifesavers” — neighbors prepared to act in advance of professional responders.
The event is presented as the AHA’s largest community‑facing initiative, designed to unite businesses, survivors, volunteers and the public to promote physical activity, fund research, and expand equitable access to heart‑healthy education and resources.
Porter places particular emphasis on the event’s potential to showcase corporate commitment to employee wellness and community health, describing participation as a form of team building that signals organizational support for the AHA’s mission.
The source notes that funds raised through the walk will remain within New Mexico.
The 2026 New Mexico Heart Walk and 5K Run is scheduled for Sept.
19 at Avanyu Plaza at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center.
The announcement anticipates several hundred participants gathering to celebrate survivors, remember those lost to cardiovascular disease, and support ongoing lifesaving work statewide.
Event sponsors named in the source include Delta Dental of New Mexico and Presbyterian Health.
Interested companies and individuals are directed to contact a named event coordinator by email (Sherri.Wells@heart.org) or to register via the NewMexicoHeartWalk.org website.
Porter has worked in banking for more than three decades and is currently employed at UMB Bank.
Her career has included roles from teller to associate national bank examiner.
The source characterizes her as having statewide recognition for leadership and community engagement.
She previously served on the AHA‑New Mexico board of directors in 2022 and returned to the board in 2025 with stated renewed emphasis on health equity.
A quoted AHA‑New Mexico board member attributes Porter’s selection as chair to her deep local ties and personal connection to heart disease and stroke.
The announcement situates the Heart Walk within the AHA’s century of work as a major funder of cardiovascular research, public health advocacy, and community education.
The source reiterates the organization’s broader aims: advancing science, policy and care to improve cardiovascular and cerebrovascular outcomes, pursuing equitable health across communities, and mobilizing volunteers and donors to support these efforts.
The source provides a web and phone channel for additional AHA information and outreach.
The source material does not include quantitative fundraising targets, specific metrics for CPR training expansion, or a detailed timeline of the year‑round engagement activities Porter will oversee.
It does not provide statistical detail beyond the AHA’s cited general figures on out‑of‑hospital cardiac arrest survival and bystander CPR rates.
No operational budget, staffing structure for the campaign, or formal evaluation plan for the Heart Walk’s impact on CPR uptake or community health outcomes is reported.
The source also does not provide demographic or geographic breakdowns of the planned outreach, nor does it outline formal partnerships beyond the named sponsors.
The announcement signals opportunities for local employers, community organizations and individuals to engage with the Heart Walk as participants, fundraisers or training hosts.
It positions the event as both a community health intervention—focused on physical activity and CPR readiness—and a corporate‑community engagement opportunity.
Contact details and registration pathways are provided for interested parties.