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.
AHA News (American Heart Association) published a clinical update in Cardiology on 22 Apr 2026.
The item focuses on Local banking professional and longtime advocate Martha S.
Porter to lead 2026 New Mexico Heart Walk and 5K Run.
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