What Is Glycated Hemoglobin?
The glycated hemoglobin test was introduced as a routine test in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It measures how much glucose is spontaneously attached to hemoglobin A cells – the primary form of hemoglobin in adults and the part of the blood carrying oxygen in the red blood cells. As the hemoglobin floats around in the blood, it picks up glucose in about the same proportion as the glucose that exists in the bloodstream. The more glucose that is in the blood, the more that binds to hemoglobin A. In other words, if your blood glucose is generally running high, the hemoglobin will have more “glucose coating” (glycosylization). If glucose generally runs low, it will obviously have less. This combination of glucose and hemoglobin A is called HbA1c, or glycohemoglobin. A1c levels do not change quickly but will shift as older red blood cells die and younger ones take their place. Since the red blood cells have around a two to three-month life span in the body before they are recycled, the “g
