I understand the basic concept that it is a (averaged??) snapshot of prior 90 days of blood glucose levels… but what is the value (% or ppm, etc.) and how is it reached?
With a diabetic, glucose levels aren’t always stable. Let’s say you ranged from 150-350 on a given day…what value is given to that “day” in the 90 day picture?
In: 40
You have hemoglobin in your blood cells that helps deliver oxygen. When blood sugar levels are high some of that hemoglobin gets some sugar/carbs added to it. The higher blood sugar is over a longer period of time the more this happens (and thats what A1c is a measure of).
Red blood cells only circulate for 3-4 months before being replaced, which is why A1c only shows blood sugars over the past few months.
If you were to graph all of someones glucose levels over that period and add up the area under the curve it would correlate to the A1c.
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