What does an A1c of 7.9 mean?
An A1c of 7.9% (63 mmol/mol) is in the diabetes range, so see your doctor. 6.5% or more on two tests is diabetes, so book a second test. Call today if you're very thirsty, peeing a lot or losing weight without trying.
NormalPrediabetes rangeDiabetes range
What it means
A1c is the share of your hemoglobin with sugar stuck to it, an average of the last few months that leans on the latest weeks. Under 5.7% is normal, 5.7 to 6.4% (39 to 47 mmol/mol) is the prediabetes range, and 6.5% (48) or more is the diabetes range. 7.9% sits 1.4 points over the diabetes line. It fits an average glucose anywhere from 145 to 214 mg/dL.
Can this number decide it?
Only a certified lab A1c decides a band, and a diagnosis takes two results unless the number is clearly high. A home kit can only tell you to get a lab test. Anemia, sickle cell trait and some other blood conditions can throw A1c off, so pair it with a fasting glucose.
What to do
See your doctor and book the second test this week. Take this number with you.
When to get help now
Call 911 or go to the ER if a blood sugar stays at 300 or more, or comes with vomiting so you can't keep fluids down, fruity breath or hard breathing. Under 70 with confusion, fainting or trouble swallowing is an emergency too. Pregnancy uses tighter numbers, so take any number to your midwife or doctor, and if you take insulin or a sulfonylurea, your targets come from your prescriber.
