"What is a hemoglobin A1c?"

By: Dr. Daniel Pepe, Family Physician | April 1st, 2019 

Most patients have heard about hemoglobin A1c or HbA1c as it is often referred to from commercials on TV. The other place they may have heard the term is their doctor discussing with them that their A1c is high enough that they have diabetes. 

In a nutshell - your Hemoglobin A1c is a measurement of your average blood sugar over the last 3 months. 

Your doctor will often order a Hemoglobin A1c when you are about 40 years old to check and see if you have diabetes. The most common reason that patients have their A1c checked is because they have diabetes. In diabetes the normal control of blood sugar is For most patients their A1c is considered normal and is less than 6.5% meaning that they do not have diabetes. 

Unlike other tests HbA1c is measured as a percent so if you check your bloodwork online before your speak to your doctor there is a chance you will see anything from 4.5% to above 10%. The question is - "what does that percentage mean?". The way I imagine it with patients is by imagining 100 red