Patient was educated on hemoglobin A1c as follows:
- The hemoglobin A1c test, which is also called the A1c test or glycosylated hemoglobin test, is a measure of average blood sugar level over the last two to three months.
- Hemoglobin is present in the human red blood cells and this is the pigment that oxygen binds to and gets transported throughout the body.
- Poorly managed diabetics have high levels of blood sugars, and this excess of built up sugar in the blood for prolonged periods of time reacts with the hemoglobin and this hemoglobin undergoes some chemical transformation, which is called glycosylated hemoglobin.
- It is this glycosylated hemoglobin that is measured on the test, which is an average measure of blood sugar over the last two to three months. Higher levels of blood sugar will interact with more hemoglobin and so, more glycosylated hemoglobin means higher blood sugars.
- For nondiabetics, this number usually is less than 6%.
- A series of readings with this number between 5.7% – 6.4% can be diagnostic for prediabetes.
- The higher hemoglobin A1c is on this range, the higher will be the possibility to progress from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes.
