Hemoglobin A1C Test

HbA1C Test

Hemoglobin A1C test (also known as HbA1c, glycated hemoglobin, glycohemoglobin test) is a measure of your overall blood glucose levels over a period of about 3 months.

How Does it Work?

An essential component of your red blood cell is hemoglobin, which transports oxygen throughout your body. As glucose passes through your bloodstream, it sticks to hemoglobin. The process is known as glycation.

Each of your blood cells has a lifespan of about three months and–as a result of glycation–every cell stores information about your glucose level history.

While glucose tests can give us snapshots of your blood sugar levels, A1c tests allow us to see the average over the past three months.

Why do patients need it?

This test can help detect both pre-diabetes as well as diagnose diabetes. If you are already diabetic, this can help you track your progress in managing your diabetes.

In people with diabetes, insulin is either not produced in a proper quantity or less effective overall which makes it harder to manage the amount of sugar passing through your blood. Look out for signs of high blood sugar levels. They include increased hunger and thirst, frequent urination, blurry vision, fatigue, darkened areas of the folds in the skin, and weight loss.

What does the test include?

Hemoglobin A1C levels.

A phlebotomist will examine your arms for a vein easily accessible, usually near the elbow on the inner side of your arm.
They will then clean and disinfect the area around the vein.
After that, they’ll insert a small needle into your vein to take a sample of blood.
As soon as the needle is inserted, a small amount of blood will be collected in the test tube.
The needle will then be removed, and cotton balls or gauze will be applied to the site to stop bleeding.
In the end, they’ll place a bandage over the site, and you’ll be done.

Patient Instructions:

Does not require fasting.

$29

Must be 18+ years old to purchase

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