Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c)
When checking your blood sugars at home on your glucometer, you are basically
getting a "snapshot" picture of your sugar level at that specific
moment. This is very important to understand how to manage your sugar
levels. However, your blood sugar levels change a lot over the course of
the day so sometimes it's hard to determine if you're managing your diabetes correctly.
Hemoglobin A1c Testing is one sure way to make sure that you're keeping your blood sugar levels under control. Unlike other glucose tests, diabetes HbA1c test has a memory. The great thing about Hemoglobin A1c Testing is that it averages your sugar levels for the past 2 - 3 months, giving you a more complete view of your overall health. The higher your average blood sugar level, the higher the HbA1c test. See the comparison chart below to see how the Hemoglobin A1c Testing correspond to average sugar levels:
HbA1c Reading
|
Average Blood Sugar Level
|
Your Blood Sugar Control
|
| 14% |
360 mg/dL |
Very poor control, take immediate action to lower |
| 10% |
240 mg/dL |
Poor control, take action to lower |
| 9% |
210 mg/dL |
Poor control, take action to lower |
| 8% |
180 mg/dL |
Marginal control, take action to lower |
| 7% |
150 mg/dL |
Good control |
| 6% |
120 mg/dL |
Very good control |
Anyone with diabetes should have the HbA1c test done every 6 months. If
you inject insulin, you should have the test done every 3 months.
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