Glycosylated Hemoglobin, also known as HbA1c, is a type of diagnostic test used for detecting and controlling Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). With this analysis, doctors will get the details on the average glycemia or blood sugar level in your body for the last two to three months.
Following that, this test also specifies the hemoglobin percentage in your body. Hemoglobin is the protein that’s found in the red blood cells of your body, which is responsible for transporting oxygen across the body, covered with glucose.
The purpose of this test is to identify if there is any need for you to change your medications or treatment to bring your levels of blood glucose under control. To help you better understand this test, let’s dive deeper into it further in this article.
What is the Importance of the Glycosylated Hemoglobin Test?
Several factors state the importance of glycated hemoglobin test, which includes:
- This test allows the doctors to determine or confirm if a patient is suffering from Type 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus condition. The HbA1c test is recommended by the doctors only if the other diagnostic tests, such as blood tests or fasting blood glucose test results, are altered or insufficient to determine the condition.
- Glycosylated hemoglobin test lets the doctors decide on the diabetes treatment plan that’s adequate for specific patients. Glycemic control is carried out in a more precise manner with respect to the results of the HbA1c test.
It is advised for individuals with diabetes to take this test with a certain frequency, depending on the specific cases. The doctors will assess your diabetes condition and will let you know the follow-up routine that would include the execution of this test.
How Does the Glycosylated Hemoglobin Test Works?
If you want to know how is glycated hemoglobin formed, you must know glucose is the main culprit. Glucose comes from the diverse food that you consume and your body uses the same for generating energy. The availability of insulin in your body helps transport glucose into the body cells. But, if you are suffering from diabetes, your pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin to transport glucose to all your cells. As a result, the glucose that you consume through foods will stay within your bloodstream, triggering a spike in your blood glucose levels.
The glucose will then stick to the hemoglobin of your blood, and the condition is referred to as glycation. Over time, the levels of blood glucose in your body will continue to rise, and the hemoglobin protein will also be taking in that adverse effect. Glucose sticking onto the hemoglobin of your body will stay there for around 2 to 3 months, which is the lifespan of red blood cells.
With the implementation of a glycosylated hemoglobin test, doctors will then be able to measure the hemoglobin percentage in your blood that’s coated with glucose. The higher the levels of glucose-coated-hemoglobin, the more is the risk for you to develop diabetes complications.
What Symptoms Do Indicate the Need for Taking Glycosylated Hemoglobin Test?
In general, if you are suffering from diabetes of any type, your doctor will advise you to take up glycosylated hemoglobin HbA1c test at least two or more times a year. The idea is to check if the medications you consume are working effectively in controlling your blood glucose levels or not.
In case you don’t have diabetes, your doctor will then be advising you this test with respect to your experience of certain diabetic symptoms, such as:
- Frequent urination
- Excessive thirst
- Blurry vision
- Unplanned weight loss
- Tingling in feet and hands
- Slow-healing wounds
- Dry skin
What Risk Factors Urge the Doctors to Recommend You With Glycosylated Hemoglobin Test?
There are certain risk factors that doctors believe are indications for you to experience diabetes anytime soon. In such cases, a glycosylated hemoglobin test might be recommended to be sure of the condition. Some of those risk factors include:
- Family history of people suffering from diabetes.
- Excessive weight gain
- Gestational diabetes
- Unhealthy lifestyle or diet routine
- Lack of exercise
- Stress
What is the Process for Executing the Glycosylated Hemoglobin Test?
A glycosylated hemoglobin test is one of the most common diagnostic procedures that doesn’t demand you to fast for the time being. You can take up the test at almost any time of the day, which will take only a few minutes. Moreover, you are also free to get done with this test by calling a lab technician home.
The procedure for conducting this test includes certain steps, which includes:
- The lab technician will request you to sit on a chair and extend your arm for him/her to look for a vein on the elbow’s inner part.
- The area will then be disinfected, and a needle will be inserted into the vein to collect your blood sample.
- The blood sample will be collected in the test tube, and the needle will then be removed.
- A cotton gauge will be placed over the puncture site to stop your bleeding, and a bandage will be applied before letting you go.
There are no such risks associated with glycosylated hemoglobin tests. You will only feel a slight pain at the spot where the needle will be inserted, and that slight pain will last only for an hour or two.
What Do the Glycosylated Hemoglobin Test Results Mean?
The glycosylated hemoglobin test results will be determined by the percentage of hemoglobin that’s glycated. If the blood sugar levels in your body will be high, so will the percentage. As per the medical experts, the results are understandable in a way such that:
- The glycated hemoglobin normal range is <5.7%.
- If the glycosylated hemoglobin range is between 5.7% to 6.4%, then the patient is in the pre-diabetic stage.
- Any percentage above 6.5% gives a verdict that the patient is suffering from Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes.
- If the resulting percentage tops the 7% range, there is a serious risk of diabetic complications in the patient.
What are the Possible Complications that Follows High Glycosylated Hemoglobin Percentage?
You should be in touch with your doctor at all times if your glycosylated hemoglobin test results are 7% or higher. This is because various health disorders might intervene and distort your bodily functions. Some of those complications include:
- Heart Disease
High levels of glucose in your hemoglobin might harden the arteries, leading you to experience heart problems.
- Stroke
The risk of stroke also increases as enhanced blood glucose levels might block certain blood vessels, hampering the flow of oxygen and blood to the brain.
- Nerve Disorders
Diabetes mostly triggers nerve damage or neuro disorders, which will then affect your feet and legs.
- Kidney Disease
Diabetes, when beyond control, will damage the kidneys and increase the risk of experiencing nephropathy, which means your kidneys won’t be able to filter the blood from toxins.
Also Read: Type 2 Diabetes: Early Signs, Symptoms, Causes, Diet, Treatment
Conclusion
Take note of the symptoms stated earlier in this article and be very active in responding to them by connecting with your doctor. It doesn’t matter whether you are already diagnosed with diabetes or are starting to feel light symptoms; getting the glycosylated hemoglobin test won’t harm you at all.
If you aren’t affected by diabetes, you can attain peace of mind, but if the diabetic levels are worrisome, you will get the right treatment to bring it under control. Accept the medical procedures with an open heart, and you shall take a bold step toward living a healthy life.
In this pursuit of helping all diabetic and non-diabetic patients get their glycosylated hemoglobin test results faster with utmost accuracy, Agilus is here to help you with the needful. We are one of the diagnostic centers with the right tools, equipment, and lab technicians to attend to your test requirements with utmost precision.
So, if your doctors have recommended you for an HbA1c test, go ahead and book your appointment with us right away!
Agilus Diagnostics, a subsidiary of Fortis Healthcare Limited
