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 longtime New Mexico banking professional and 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 in Albuquerque.
The appointment is grounded in Porter’s stated personal experiences with cardiovascular disease: her father’s fatal heart attack, her mother’s stroke survival, her husband’s cardiac arrest, and her own management of high blood pressure.
Porter cited these family events as central to her volunteer engagement with the American Heart Association (AHA) and as the source of her commitment to increasing public awareness of heart disease, stroke and lifesaving measures such as bystander CPR.
Porter will lead a year‑round statewide initiative aimed at engaging businesses, organizations and families to raise funds and advance CPR education.
The campaign emphasis for the Heart Walk this year is expanding CPR training and creating a “community of lifesavers” — neighbors equipped to act before emergency responders arrive.
Porter highlighted the potential impact of wider CPR knowledge with a personal anecdote about her father’s heart attack, noting that her mother did not know CPR and was alone with him while waiting for help.
The AHA statistics cited in the source material were used to underscore this focus: most out‑of‑hospital cardiac arrests do not result in survival, and a majority of victims do not receive bystander CPR; immediate CPR can substantially increase survival likelihood, according to the AHA.
The Heart Walk and accompanying 5K Run will occur on Sept.
19 at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center’s Avanyu Plaza.
The event is expected to draw hundreds of participants, including survivors and community members, and will serve both commemorative and fundraising purposes.
Delta Dental of New Mexico and Presbyterian Health are named as event supporters.
The source provides contact information for organizations and individuals interested in participation (Sherri.Wells@heart.org) and cites NewMexicoHeartWalk.org as the registration and information portal.
Porter’s professional background spans more than three decades in the banking sector; she currently works at UMB Bank and has performed roles from teller to associate national bank examiner.
Her prior involvement with AHA-New Mexico includes service on the board of directors in 2022 and a return to the board in 2025 with an expressed renewed emphasis on health equity.
AHA-New Mexico board member Suzanne Mirabal is quoted characterizing Porter’s New Mexico ties and personal experiences with cardiovascular disease as strengthening her capacity to advocate for the AHA mission and to lead the Heart Walk.
The Heart Walk is presented in the source as the AHA’s largest community‑oriented initiative, intended to unite businesses, survivors and volunteers around promotion of physical activity, funding research, and expanding equitable access to heart‑healthy education and resources.
Under Porter’s leadership, the New Mexico event intends to sustain or expand that community focus, with explicit attention to CPR education as part of creating preparedness within neighborhoods.
Porter also framed the event as an avenue for companies to demonstrate commitments to employee wellness and community engagement, describing participation as team building and a public display of support for the AHA mission.
The source states that funds raised through the walk will remain in New Mexico.
The source reiterates organizational context for the AHA: a century‑long history as a public health information source, a global volunteer base, and activities that include funding research, public health advocacy, and provision of resources related to cardiovascular disease and stroke.
Contact and engagement channels for the AHA were listed in the source (heart.org, social media platforms, and a national phone number).
The source is a news release focused on leadership appointment and event promotion; consequently, it emphasizes narrative, advocacy and organizational messaging rather than presenting detailed operational plans or outcome data.
Assertions about the potential lifesaving effects of bystander CPR are attributed to the AHA and reported as organizational statistics; the article does not supply primary data or references beyond those organizational statements.
Specifics about implementation of the year‑round statewide campaign, measurement of impact, or allocation of funds raised are not documented in the source material.
For stakeholders interested in participation, the source provides direct contact information and an online registration portal.
The event is positioned as an opportunity for community engagement, survivor commemoration and local fundraising, with an articulated intent to enhance CPR awareness and build neighborhood readiness for cardiac emergencies.
The source frames the Heart Walk as both an employee wellness and community health activity, asserting that local fundraising will remain within New Mexico.