What is a Hemoglobin A1c test?

The Hemoglobin A1c test is the measurement of the level of blood sugar or glucose in the blood. To understand the test we have to first know what Hemoglobin A1c is.

Simply put the hemoglobin is the pigment that carries oxygen and also gives the blood the red color because of the presence of red blood cells. 92% of the blood is hemoglobin A. Here “A” denotes adult type. The rest of the 8% is composed of several other minor chemical components like the hemoglobin A1c, A1b, A1a1 and A1a2. The hemoglobin A1c is the element to which the glucose binds itself. The measurement of hemoglobin A1c gives us the levels of blood sugar in the blood.

The major benefit of measuring Hemoglobin A1c is that, in comparison to other tests such as finger stick tests, it gives a more reasonable view. This is because hemoglobin A1c is not affected by short term fluctuations in the blood glucose and therefore it is safe to take tests at any time. This feature is also helpful in assessing the real position of the diabetic management as it tells the average glucose levels over the past six to eight weeks and is not affected by what food has been taken in, prior to the test.

For day-to-day dosage determination of insulin, the hemoglobin A1c test is not advised, the prime reason being its ineffectiveness to daily fluctuations.