In the article, we will consider how to take an analysis for glycated hemoglobin. It is a specific compound of red blood cells with glucose. Its concentration reflects the average blood glucose content over a period of about two to three months.
How to prepare for this study?
Preparation for glycated hemoglobin analysis is very important.
You can’t eat for two, even three hours before blood donation, you can only drink non-carbonated clean water. In preparation for passing this analysis, it is necessary to completely exclude any physical, and in addition, emotional overstrain. In addition, you must not smoke for thirty minutes before the study.
General analysis information
So, let's figure out what it is - an analysis for glycated hemoglobin.
This study helps estimate the average blood glucose over the past few months.
Hemoglobin is an oxygen-transporting protein inside red blood cells. Several types of normal hemoglobin are distinguished; in addition, many abnormal varieties have been identified, although hemoglobin A, which is ninety-five percent of the total hemoglobin, is considered the predominant form. Hemoglobin A is divided into several components, one of which is A1c.
A portion of the circulating glucose can spontaneously bind to hemoglobin, forming glycated hemoglobin. The higher the concentration of glucose in the blood, the more intensively it is formed. Combining with hemoglobin, glucose remains with it as if in one bundle until the very end of the life of the red blood cell, that is, for one hundred and twenty days. The glucose compound with hemoglobin A is called A1c in medicine. Glycated hemoglobin is formed in the blood and daily disappears from it. Old red blood cells die quickly, and young (which are not yet glycated) take their place.
The hemoglobin A1c test is used to monitor the condition of patients with a diagnosis of diabetes. It helps to evaluate how effectively glucose is controlled during therapy.
It is important to find out in advance how to take an analysis for glycated hemoglobin, on an empty stomach or not. Its reliability depends on this.
For some patients, an analysis to determine this type of hemoglobin is prescribed for the diagnosis of diabetes, and in addition, a prediabetic state in addition to an empty stomach glucose test. Additionally, a glucose tolerance test may also be performed.
The resulting indicator is measured in percent. Patients who suffer from diabetes need to strive to maintain its level; it is important that it does not exceed seven percent.
Therefore, you need to know how to pass the test for glycated hemoglobin.
Hemoglobin A1c must be indicated in one of the following ways:
- As a percentage of total hemoglobin.
- In the unit of measurement mmol.
- As the average glucose content mmol / L.
Now we find out for what purpose this laboratory study is carried out.
Many do not understand how to take glycated hemoglobin analysis - from a vein or from a finger. We will talk about this below.
What is this analysis used for?
This test is necessary for glucose control in patients with diabetes. For these people, keeping it as close to normal levels as possible is very important. This minimizes complications in the eyes, kidneys, cardiovascular, and in addition, the nervous system. Among other things, the study in question is carried out in the following cases:
- To determine the average blood glucose over the past few months.
- To confirm the correctness of the measures taken for the treatment of diabetes and to find out if they do not require any adjustments.
- In order to determine in patients with newly diagnosed diabetes an uncontrolled rise in blood glucose. Moreover, the test must be prescribed several times until the desired glucose level is detected, then it needs to be repeated several times every six months in order to make sure that the normal level is maintained.
- As part of prevention, in order to diagnose diabetes at an early stage.
Where to get tested for glycated hemoglobin, you can check with your doctor.
When is this study scheduled?
Depending on the type of diabetes and how well the disease can be treated, the A1c test is carried out two to four times a year. On average, patients with diabetes are recommended to take this test twice a year. In the event that the patient was diagnosed with diabetes for the first time or when the control measurement fails, the analysis is re-prescribed.
In addition, this analysis is prescribed if the patient is suspected of having diabetes, as there are symptoms of high blood glucose, for example:
- The presence of intense thirst.
- The presence of frequent and profuse urination.
- The presence of fatigue.
- The appearance of visual impairment.
- The presence of increased susceptibility to infections.
Next, we will find out in more detail how to take an analysis for glycated hemoglobin.
Study Location
Frequently asked patients: where can I get glycated hemoglobin? Each person can donate blood directly in his clinic according to the doctor’s prescription.
Where else can I get a glycated hemoglobin test?
In the event that this indicator is not met in a free medical institution, then it can always be done in any paid laboratory. In this case, no direction is even needed.
Can I eat before the blood sampling?
How to donate blood for glycated hemoglobin - on an empty stomach or not?
As a rule, all laboratories take blood on an empty stomach. This rule is required so that there are no problems with the blood, since its composition after eating may differ slightly from that observed on an empty stomach. But it is worth noting that by and large there is no difference at all whether this test is given on an empty stomach or after eating, as this indicator reflects the amount of glucose over the past three months, and not at any particular and specific point in time.
But nevertheless, doctors recommend taking this medical analysis on an empty stomach, that’s how you can avoid unnecessary waste of time and money on retaking in cases of unsuccessful analysis, which may turn out to be not entirely correct due to a simple violation of banal rules.
For research, blood is taken capillary (from the finger). The preferred time of day is morning.
How to take an analysis for glycated hemoglobin is now clear.
How many days are the labs preparing the test in question?
As a rule, an analysis for this type of hemoglobin is done within three or four days, so the patient does not have to wait long to find out his result. Blood for determining the level of glycated hemoglobin is taken, as a rule, from a vein, but there are techniques for taking this material from a finger.
Next, we find out what the results of the analysis for this hemoglobin say and what this means for patients.
What does the analysis mean?
The closer the glycated hemoglobin level is to seven percent in a patient with diabetes, the easier it is to control the disease. Accordingly, with an increase in the level of such hemoglobin, the risks of complications also increase. The result of the analysis to determine A1c is interpreted as follows:
- When the hemoglobin value is between four and six percent, this means that the person does not have diabetes.
- Six and a half percent or more already indicates that a person has diabetes.
- The value of the analysis from 5.6 to 6.3% tells doctors about the so-called prediabetes. That is, this indicator indicates the presence of impaired glucose tolerance, which is associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes.
What can affect the results of the analysis?
In patients characterized by abnormal forms of hemoglobin, for example in patients with sickle-shaped erythrocytes, the amount of glycated hemoglobin will be underestimated. In addition, if a person suffers from hemolysis, anemia or severe bleeding, the result of the analysis may also be underestimated. On the contrary, A1c values ​​are overestimated with iron deficiency and with a relatively recent human transfusion. The fact is that liquid blood preservatives can contain a fairly high concentration of glucose.
The analysis for glycated hemoglobin does not reflect sharp changes in blood glucose. Fluctuations in glucose in a patient with labile diabetes will also not be detected by this test.
How and by what means can glycated hemoglobin be reduced?
A decrease in glycated hemoglobin can be inextricably linked to a decrease in glucose. Therefore, in order to lower the level of this hemoglobin, it is necessary to fulfill absolutely all the doctor’s recommendations for the treatment of diabetes, for example:
- Compliance with a special type of food and mode.
- Active physical education.
- Timely intake of drugs or insulin.
- Compliance with sleep and wakefulness.
- It is necessary to monitor glucose levels more often directly at home.
- Arrive at the doctor's appointment in a timely manner.
In the event that a person sees that from all his efforts the amount of glucose normalizes throughout the day and he feels better, then this means that the patient on the right track and the next blood test will certainly please him.
Glycated hemoglobin during pregnancy
Glycated hemoglobin is a component that occurs in the body against the background of glucose reactions with hemoglobin. Its norm in pregnant women is similar to the standards for ordinary women. But due to significant changes in the body during pregnancy, it will be much more difficult to interpret the exact result obtained. Glucose, by its nature, serves as sugar, and hemoglobin is a type of protein. During the collision, sugar and hemoglobin bind, resulting in a glycated form of this blood element.
When pregnancy occurs, the most optimal way to determine the concentration of sugar in the blood is to measure glycated hemoglobin. True, the delivery of this analysis directly during pregnancy may also not give accurate results. The fact is that in pregnant women, the amount of glucose in the blood has the property to increase unevenly. The negative consequence of an uneven increase in glucose in the blood of pregnant women can be extremely serious:
- Too rapid development of the bearing fetus up to four or five kilograms, which can seriously injure the mother and the baby itself during childbirth.
- Blood vessels are destroyed.
- There is a malfunction in the functionality of the kidneys.
- The vision situation may also worsen.
It can sometimes be difficult to prevent negative consequences on time, because glucose begins to rise only at the moment the baby’s end of gestation approaches. The peak of increase occurs in the eighth or ninth month, but because it is already difficult to timely influence the situation. True, most often a not too significant jump in blood glucose will not entail a significant negative change. Nevertheless, you must follow the doctor’s instructions, and in addition, pass all the necessary medical tests.
How to take a test for glycated hemoglobin during pregnancy?
An empty stomach blood test during pathology remains normal, sugar rises after eating, and its high concentration persists for a long time. A study on HbA1C is ineffective for expectant mothers, since they allow obtaining data for the last 3 months, while gestational diabetes tends to develop after the 25th week of pregnancy. Check glycemia by measuring sugar after a meal. The analysis is carried out as follows: a woman takes blood on an empty stomach, then give a glucose solution to drink and monitor after 0.5, 1 and 2 hours. The results determine how sugar rises and how quickly it returns to normal. If deviations are detected, treatment is prescribed.
What are the reasons for giving this test to pregnant women?
An analysis of glycated hemoglobin during pregnancy can be prescribed based on specific indications for this. It is necessary to highlight the general symptoms preceding diabetes mellitus:
- The occurrence of dry mouth with the presence of a constant strong desire to drink.
- The appearance of frequent and prolonged urination.
- The occurrence of rapid fatigue.
- Prolonged wound healing.
- The constant presence of certain infectious diseases.
- A noticeable drop in vision.
What else do you need to know about glycated hemoglobin?
Here are a few more nuances on which you need to focus:
- The level of this type of hemoglobin must be determined at least once every few months (every three or four months). After evaluating the results, you must immediately take appropriate measures. This lab test should not be the kind of analysis that people go through for a check or for a doctor. This analysis is primarily required directly to the person.
- The determination of glycated hemoglobin does not in any way cancel the measurement of the amount of sugar using a conventional glucometer. Even if a person has perfect glycated hemoglobin, but there are daily sugar fluctuations of more than 5 mmol, this will not be able to protect a person from the development of certain complications. This is a completely proven fact. In addition, it has been proved that in the presence of the same indicator, those people who have had or exist such fluctuations are most exposed to complications.
- It is necessary to reduce the overestimated level of glycated hemoglobin gradually, at one percent per year.
You should not chase the ideal, you must strive for your goals. It should be borne in mind that what is given to young, elderly people can only do harm.
We figured out how to get tested for glycated hemoglobin.