What is a Diabetes A1c Test?
The A1c
test is an important blood glucose monitoring tool your doctor uses to determine how
well you are controlling your blood glucose ("sugar") over a period of
time.
Glycated hemoglobin, hemoglogin A1c, Hb1c, HbA1c and HgA1C, all refer to the same thing: the average level of plasma glucose concentration in the blood measured over a period of time, usually over 120 days. It takes 120 days for red blood cells to develop.
Red blood cells carry hemoglobin which combines with glucose to form glycated hemoglobin. If the A1c test comes back higher than normal, that means your level of glycated hemoglobin was too high; which indicates that blood sugars were too high, on average, over the time period tested (usually, 120 days).
Results of an A1c test for persons without diabetes normally ranges from 4% to 6%
If you are diabetic, your doctor will probably set a goal for your A1C test to be below 7% to indicate that you are maintaining tight control over your blood sugars over time.
However, my loved one developed anemia, which is a condition of low red blood count, and this affected her A1c test.
So, if you have anemia or other complications, your doctor may set a different target than normal for your A1c test level.
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