Local banking professional and longtime advocate Martha S. Porter to lead 2026 New Mexico Heart Walk and 5K Run

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.