Hba1c Test, Hemoglobin A1c Diabetes Test

By Author: Dr Andrew Napier
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The term Hb refers to hemoglobin which is a protein found in the blood; it is responsible for the red coloration of blood; its main purpose is to carry oxygen and carbon dioxide to and from the cells. Hemoglobin is further classified as 'A' meaning adult type and this is further isolated chemically to give rise to A1c, plus a few others like A1a1 etc. It is therefore; the small component of hemoglobin A1c in which glucose is bound and it is the behavior of this narrow portion that becomes of interest in the above test.

The natural lifeline of a red blood cell is 120 days and its behavior during this period is of great importance to the medical practitioners; how much glucose it is carrying is crucial; thus the test is specific - monitoring how much it has locked itself with for quite a long period 2 to 3 months or more. The higher the glucose content, the higher the level of hbA1c; patients with clinical symptoms especially diabetic cases are advised to trim the level to 6% or less of hbA1c in their blood through all means including dieting. No one is perfect though, to strictly listen to advice even to delay symptoms; ...
... by reducing to 7% is at times a hill climb task because of lifestyle and eating habits that the fast world has brought to our doorsteps. Because of this; damage of organs gets out of hand at a flash when this is combined with pressure, age, alcohol and smoking plus of course the sedentary life many lead. Let's not forget the test also - HbA1c - helps determine management plans for diabetics and non diabetic; be it in dieting, medication etc in children or adults.

This diagnostic test, is rather complicated and demands hyper investment on the part of a medical practitioner or laboratory unit. It is no mean game to draw blood and expect rudimentary tools to give good results. Here we talk of high pressure liquid chromatography, where the charged molecule of hbA1c is separated and determined. The blood components separation process is all machine done; resulting in the isolation of these molecules. It is the process of high pressure liquid chromatography that is employed in separating all blood components and isolating the case of our interest - hbA1c. Other special liquids too are added while passing through columns that separates the mixture into specific detachable molecules. It is at this juncture, that hbA1c is identified and tested for glucose. After all it does not get affected in any way by the daily amount of glucose in the blood.

The test is neat and accurate, if not for other medical conditions a patient might be suffering from, which end up increasing or decreasing the quantity of hbA1c. This being an impediment everything should be considered to avoid false reporting. The common identifiable hindrances that bring about poor reporting are kidney failure or high alcohol consumption both bring about high molecules if hbA1c - while any trigger resulting in loss of blood brings about the inverse. As a matter of principle, this test is the main precursor to all other body organ review tests and the knowledge brought about by good results, will shut off other troubles that set in if ignored like loss of sight, kidney failure, immune breakdown etc.

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