What Do A1c Test Results Mean?

If you have diabetes, poorly controlled blood sugar has the potential to cause nerve damage, cardiovascular disease and blindness. The A1c blood test is one of the ways that your doctor is able to determine your risk for developing these complications.

Function

• The A1c test is a way of monitoring how well your blood sugar levels were controlled over a given period of time. The lower the score, the more your diet, exercise and insulin or oral medications prevented instances of high sugars.

Time Frame

• The A1c tests is a picture of blood sugar levels over a 90-day or three-month period. Because of this, your doctor is likely to order a A1c blood test four times per year.

Features

• While monitoring your blood sugar levels several times per day with a glucometer helps you know what foods you are able to eat and how much insulin or medication you need, these readings are isolated and only give you information about your sugars at one given moment of time. The A1c test allows a more thorough, overall look at your sugars for both you and your doctor.

Benefits

• If you suddenly experience higher A1c test results, this may be an indication that you need a change in medication. A1c tests also help you to realize if you need to make larger changes to your diet to prevent the possible complications of diabetes.

Considerations

• Each laboratory uses its own scale for recording A1c results. For this reason, you may not be able to compare the actual number scores from one test to another, but your doctor will be able to interpret the results and let you know whether you are doing the same, better or worse.