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A1c
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The Test Sample
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What is being tested?
The A1c test evaluates the average amount of glucose in the blood over the last 2 to 3 months. It does this by measuring the concentration of glycosylated hemoglobin. As glucose circulates in the blood, some of it spontaneously binds to hemoglobin A (the primary form of hemoglobin in adults). Hemoglobin is a red protein that carries oxygen in the red blood cells (RBCs)). Once the glucose is bound to the hemoglobin A, it remains there for the life of the red blood cell (about 120 days). The more glucose that is in the blood, the more that binds to hemoglobin A. This combination of glucose and hemoglobin A is called A1c (or hemoglobin A1c or glycohemoglobin). A1c levels do not change quickly but will shift as older RBCs die and younger ones take their place.
How is the sample collected for testing?
A blood sample is obtained by inserting a needle into a vein in the arm or a drop of blood is taken from your finger by pricking it with a small, pointed lancet.
NOTE: If undergoing medical tests makes you or someone you care for anxious, embarrassed, or even difficult to manage, you might consider reading one or more of the following articles: Coping with Test Pain, Discomfort, and Anxiety, Tips on Blood Testing, Tips to Help Children through Their Medical Tests, and Tips to Help the Elderly through Their Medical Tests.
Another article, Follow That Sample, provides a glimpse at the collection and processing of a blood sample and throat culture.
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This article was last reviewed on
August 29, 2005
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