Hemoglobin A1C Analysis

Hemoglobin A1C is an altered protein in blood cells that helps doctors better assess blood sugar levels in diabetes patients. By measuring its presence relative to normal hemoglobin, it is possible to get a "snapshot" of blood sugar over a period of several months. Doctors analyze these snapshots to determine if current treatment is truly effective in controlling the symptoms of diabetes.

Hemoglobin A1C and Diabetes

• Diabetes results from the body's inability to properly process sugar, or glucose. In diabetes patients excess glucose builds up in the bloodstream, where it enters the red blood cells. Inside these cells glucose links with hemoglobin, the protein responsible for carrying oxygen from the lungs into the rest of the body. The result of this combining of hemoglobin and glucose is the altered protein called hemoglobin A1C. The percentage of hemoglobin A1C compared to normal hemoglobin in a blood cell is directly related to the amount of glucose in the bloodstream.

The Importance of Hemoglobin A1C Analysis

• If you have diabetes you are intimately familiar with the routine of everyday treatment, which centers around the need to keep your daily glucose levels under control. To measure how successful you are at this goal, you use a glucose monitor to take regular readings each day. While these readings are essential, they are not very helpful in giving you a longer-term view of how well you are managing your glucose levels overall. By stepping back and analyzing the big picture, you can see beyond the day-to-day ups and downs and get a better idea of whether or not your treatment is going well.

  This is where hemoglobin A1C comes in. Once this protein is created, it remains inside a red blood cell for the rest of that cell's 120-day lifespan. As more excess glucose enters the red blood cell, it combines with more hemoglobin, creating more and more hemoglobin A1C. By testing your red blood cells every 120 days, doctors can measure the percentages of hemoglobin A1C, and thereby read the history of the red blood cells' exposure to uncontrolled blood sugar over the previous three months. This extended view of your glucose levels provides a needed safety net for managing your disease, and you should have an A1C test a minimum of twice a year. For better accuracy, 4 tests a year is optimum.

Testing and Goals

• Unlike daily blood sugar checks, hemoglobin A1C checks are typically performed at your doctor's office. While approved home testing kits do exist, they are not fully standardized, and it is possible for your to misinterpret your test results. In any case, you will want your doctor to confirm any home readings, so letting your doctor do the initial test will probably save you time and money.

  People without clinical diabetes generally have some amount of hemoglobin A1C in their bodies. Overall, non-diabetics average 5 percent of the altered protein, but percentages in uncontrolled diabetics can range as high as 25 percent. The standard testing goal for diabetics is to achieve a hemoglobin A1C reading of less than 7 percent.