Northwest Colorado Health/Courtesy photo
Content provided by Northwest Colorado Health.
Did you know that people who have close relationships at home, work or in their community tend to be healthier and live longer? Research shows we are more successful at meeting our health goals when we join forces with others. Feeling connected with others and having positive, close relationships benefit overall health, including blood pressure and weight which can help decrease risk of heart attack and stroke.
Northwest Colorado Health’s free Heart Healthy classes (also known as CHARLAR), offer social support, combined with health education, for anyone in our community who is ready to make healthy lifestyle changes. Each week of the 12-week program covers different health factors of heart health, including cholesterol, blood pressure, glucose, exercise, sleep, healthy eating and behavioral health.
“Each session covers information and tips on how to make small lifestyle changes to improve overall health,” says Shania Duzik, RD, CLC, WIC Manager & High-Risk Counselor/Community Health Educator for Northwest Colorado Health. “At the end of each class, participants set a personal goal to work on for the week. The best part of the group classes is hearing others’ stories and tips and having peer accountability to help motivate change. This is a great class for anyone who is ready to make healthy lifestyle changes, has already started and would like support, or for anyone who has a family history of cardiovascular disease.”
Participants in the Heart Healthy classes learn, build skills, and improve health behaviors to lower their risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Even more important, the program offers a shared learning environment where community members support one another in setting goals around better nutrition, exercise and other lifestyle changes. And community members are seeing the results.
“We had a participant recently who was serious about making lifestyle changes,” said Duzik. “Before attending the classes this person had hypertension and high cholesterol. By the end of the 12 weeks the participant lost 12 pounds, improved their hypertension and lowered their bad cholesterol (LDL) into normal range by focusing on improving eating habits.”
Northwest Colorado Health is currently offering an in-person Heart Healthy class, and registration is now open for the upcoming virtual class:
- Virtual Heart Health (CHARLAR) Class starting March 18, 2026 – June 3, 2026. This course will be held on Zoom every Wednesday for 12 weeks from 2-4pm, covering a different topic of heart health. Please contact Shania Duzik at 970-871-7694 for more information or register by clicking here.
For community members that would like to get a baseline knowledge of their heart health, Northwest Colorado Health also offers free cardiovascular and diabetes screenings to check BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose. These are open to anyone in the community, including businesses that would like to provide screenings on-site for employees. It is a free service and allows employees to receive valuable health information without having to take time off work for a doctor’s appointment. It only takes about 15 minutes for the screening and to receive the results. Appointments can also be made for a screening at Northwest Colorado Health’s Community Health Center at 745 Russell Street by calling 970-871-7692.
Based on the results, community members will receive lifestyle recommendations and resources to help prevent heart attack, stroke, and diabetes. Clients can continue meeting with Community Health Educators to create a personalized plan to meet health goals such as incorporating movement into everyday life and learning about healthier food options. The goal is to help clients integrate one small habit at a time that is sustainable, knowing that small changes over a lifetime add up to improved health.
To learn more about how to support your heart health, visit NorthwestColoradohealth.org/hearthealth or call 970-871-7692.
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