LITTLE ROCK, Ark., April 22, 2026 - Sam Kamran has been named the Central Arkansas 2026 Woman of Impact, leading a group of local changemakers who raised awareness and critical funds to help end heart disease and stroke, the leading cause of death in women. She is a digital marketing consultant for The Marketing Broker.
Kamran earned the title through the American Heart Association's Woman of Impact™ initiative, a nine-week, high-energy campaign aligned with the national Go Red for Women® movement. The initiative challenges participants to mobilize their networks, champion women's heart health and drive measurable impact through fundraising, education and community engagement.
"Sam Kamran and every one of our Woman of Impact nominees showed what's possible when passionate leaders step forward for women's health," said Nikki Smith, executive director of the American Heart Association-Central Arkansas. "Women's heart health has been underrecognized for too long.
These leaders are accelerating change by funding research, expanding education and bringing women's heart health to the forefront." Campaigns officially launched on National Wear Red Day®, Feb. 6,.
Sam Kamran, a digital marketing consultant with The Marketing Broker, was selected as the Central Arkansas 2026 Woman of Impact by the American Heart Association (AHA).
The honor recognizes her role in a nine-week local campaign tied to the national Go Red for Women movement.
The regional initiative sought to mobilize community networks to raise awareness and funds addressing heart disease and stroke in women.
The Woman of Impact initiative is presented as a concentrated, competitive fundraising and advocacy challenge.
It ran from National Wear Red Day (Feb.
6) through an April 9 conclusion.
Nominees were asked to engage their communities through events, education and fundraising, with both local and national recognition at stake.
The AHA will later designate a single national Woman of Impact based on top fundraising performance.
According to the AHA account, participating nominees conducted public events, distributed information about cardiovascular risk and encouraged preventive care.
Specific focal points included promoting awareness of blood pressure values and recognition of heart attack and stroke warning signs.
Fundraising proceeds were described as intended to support cardiovascular research, community programs and educational efforts.
The release reiterates the AHA’s position that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among women.
It reports that cardiovascular disease affects nearly 45% of women aged 20 years and older and cites that cardiovascular disease causes death in 1 in 3 women.
The statement further asserts that over 80% of heart events are preventable through lifestyle modification, early detection and education.
These prevalence and prevention figures are presented as the rationale for targeted outreach to women.
The AHA framed the Woman of Impact initiative as a mechanism to accelerate change in women’s heart health by funding research, expanding educational reach and elevating public attention to the condition.
The release emphasizes the organization’s broader mission, describing the AHA as a long-standing source of health information, a funder of research and an advocate for equitable health, supported by a global volunteer base.
The release includes a call to action directing interested parties to follow the Central Arkansas campaign or support nominees via the regional web page (heart.org/CentralARGoRed).
It also provides general contact/connectivity options for the AHA, including its main website and social channels, plus a toll-free number.
The source does not provide data on amounts raised locally or nationally, demographic details of campaign reach or concrete measures of behavior change or clinical impact resulting from the campaign.
No description is given of specific research or community programs funded, nor is there disclosure of criteria used to select the regional winner beyond fundraising and engagement.
For stakeholders, the item signals ongoing AHA efforts to combine grassroots fundraising with public education to highlight women’s cardiovascular risk.
The announcement notes that a national Woman of Impact will be named later in the year, but offers no further timeline or evaluation metrics.