0 What Is Hemoglobin And How Does It Affect Your Health?

Hemoglobin in essence is what transports oxygen from the lungs to the other cells in the entire body. Oxygen is the most basic element of human life and its need in the body is very important. There are many health conditions that in particular have to pay very close attention to measuring the amount of oxygen that is actually in their hemoglobin. Such conditions as asthma, COPD, and other respiratory conditions require that there be a constant monitoring of the oxygen levels in order to ensure that the body is getting enough. In the medical field the measure of the amount of O2 in the blood is referred to as SpO2 or also known as blood oxygen saturation. It is this blood oxygen saturation that those that have various kinds of respiratory conditions need to keep an eye on and to closely monitor. The primary medical device that is used to measure the SpO2 is a pulse oximeter.

The way that hemoglobin can affect your health directly is when not enough of O2 is being transported to the cells in your body and as a result you will begin to have various detrimental health affects that are not so easily fixed. If for example you have asthma then one of the biggest concerns is always the fact that you need to keep a very close eye on your oxygen levels in order to make sure that you prevent an asthma attack. When there is not enough of it in your system then you run the risk of an attack which can be very dangerous to your health. One way to measure this and to prevent an attack is to closely monitor it with the use of a pulse oximeter. What the device does in fact is that it uses special infrared technology to measure the percentage in the bloodstream.

The latest can be found at http://www.pulseoximetersupply.com of pulse oximeter technology.

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0 Type 2 Diabetes - Hemoglobin A1c: A Useful Test for Diabetes Control

It is widely acknowledged good Type 2 diabetes care rests on a foundation of patient knowledge. Knowing what care you should receive is vital, since not even all doctors are aware of the guidelines set by the American Diabetes Association. A survey published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in the year 2002, estimated only 30 percent of people with diabetes had a hemoglobin A1c, (HbA1c), test during the previous year. This is a crucial test which should be given to all people with diabetes at least twice a year.

Are you a diabetic? Does your doctor advise you to have your hemoglobin A1c taken every three months? Are you wondering why you still need to have your hemoglobin A1c examined when you already check your blood sugar level regularly? What is Hemoglobin A1c? What is the importance of having this laboratory test?

The hemoglobin A1c is the stable glucose portion on the beta-chain of the hemoglobin, the oxygen transporters of red blood cells. It is formed by an irreversible reaction when red blood cells become exposed to glucose. And because it is irreversible, no diabetic can ever alter or manipulate the results of his or her hemoglobin A1c. Therefore, it is the single best test to monitor a diabetic's overall blood sugar control for the past three months.

Hemoglobin A1c values are a strong indicator for the development of long-term complications of Type 2 diabetes. In fact, the risk for diabetic retinopathy, neuropathy, and diabetic nephropathy can be easily projected by just looking at the previous HbA1c results. Cardiovascular disease, another complication of diabetes, is also another risk seen with the rising values of HbA1c through smoking, hypertension and increased blood lipid levels can also trigger its development.

What are the usual indications for hemoglobin A1c monitoring? Everyone with diabetes who needs constant monitoring and tight blood sugar control need to have their HbA1c level checked once every three to six months. However, it can be performed more often in cases where treatment management is changed rapidly or drastically. As well, anyone who is known to be at high risk for developing Type 2 diabetes should also undergo this laboratory test according to the Johns Hopkins Point-of-Care Information Technology Center.

How do you interpret your HbA1c results? The HbA1c percentage is the average blood sugar control for the past three months. It accounts for all the highs and lows of blood sugar spikes and troughs, this test is a better indicator of your overall status than the fasting blood sugar test. Non-diabetics usually have a HbA1c value of 4 to 6 percent. People who have a result of 8 percent have poor blood sugar control while those with a reading higher than 10 percent have uncontrolled Type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is considered controlled when the reading is less than 6.5 to 7 percent.

What are the limitations in HbA1c monitoring? Anything that can possibly decrease the survival rate of red blood cells also affects this value. Therefore, people with hemolytic anemia, a condition where individual red blood cells burst, have lower HbA1c values. In contrast to this, an increase in the lifespan of red blood cells, such as in aplastic anemia can also increase the hemoglobin A1c value independent of the blood sugar level.

A report published in the Lancet, May 2009 reported that diabetic patients who lowered their hemoglobin A1c value by just 1 percent over 5 years can reduce the overall rate of heart attacks by 17 percent and fatal and non-fatal heart attacks by 15 percent. It seems worthwhile to me in order to savor life longer!

To discover answers to questions you may be asking yourself about Type 2 Diabetes, click on this link... Natural Diabetes Treatments

Clicking on this link will help you to learn more about Type 2 Diabetes Solutions ... Beverleigh Piepers RN... the Diabetes Detective.

Beverleigh Piepers is the author of this article. This article can be used for reprint on your website provided all the links in the article are complete and active. Copyright (c) 2010 - All Rights Reserved Worldwide

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0 Hemoglobin Around The Globe

Commonly abbreviated as Hb, Hemoglobin, or Heamoglobin, is the iron containing oxygen in our red blood cells which transport metalloproteins. All mammals on earth have hemoglobin, as it is a necessary function in the blood. It contains globin, apoprotien, and four heme groups (organic molecules with one atom of iron attached to each).The gene for the hemoglobin protien can sometimes mutate. This occurence results in one or more of many diseases, but most commonly turns into Thalassemia or Sickle-cell disease.

Heme groups are located in each sub-unit of a hemoglobin [http://www.hemoglobinspot.com] molecule. A heme group consists of a single iron atom, held in a heterocyclic ring, commonly known as a "porphyrin". Oxygen binding takes place in this iron atom. The one iron atom binds itself equally to all four nitrogens in the center of the heterocyclic ring, which lies on one plane. In addition, two bonds perpendicular to the plane on each side, are sometimes formed with the iron to produce the fifth and sixth positions.

The name hemoglobin comes from "heme" and "globin". Globin is a generic term used for a globular protein. Since any single subunit of hemoglobin is made of a heme imbedded in a globular protein, the name makes perfect sense. There are many heme containing hemoglobins and proteins. Hemoglobin A is the most commonly known.

In adults, the most common hemoglobin is a tetramer (hemoglobin containing 4 subunit proteins) called hemoglobin A. The subunits are similar in structure, and approximatly the same size. Each subunits molecular weight is about 16,000 daltons, for a total combined molecular weight in the tetramer of approximatly 64,000 daltons. A single heme is contained in each subunit of hemoglobin, so that the overall binding capacity of human adults hemoglobin for oxygen is four oxygen molecules.

Feel free to reprint this article as long as you keep the article, this caption and author biography in tact with all hyperlinks.

Tyler Brooker is the owner and operator of The Hemoglobin Index [http://www.hemoglobinspot.com] - [http://www.hemoglobinspot.com], which is the best site on the internet for all hemoglobin related information.

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0 Hemoglobin A1C Blood Test Isn't Perfect

The hemoglobin A1C is a great blood test for type 2 diabetics, but not for diagnosing diabetes.

Don't misunderstand. I love the hemoglobin A1C blood test. It doesn't require fasting. It can be done in the doctor's office with a fingerstick just like your glucose monitor, and you can know the results before you leave the office. And it lets you know how your blood sugar has been doing over the past two or three months. It sounds perfect.

But it isn't. For diabetes management you and I need to know what our blood sugar is doing all the time, not just every three months. A great HGA1C reading does not mean there have been no hyperglycemic or hypoglycemic episodes over that time. So the hemoglobin A1C cannot replace daily checks with a glucose monitor and log book records.

Taken together with daily readings, the hemoglobin A1C gives an accurate picture of whether you are keeping your blood sugar in the ranges that will keep away the complications. There is more and more evidence that an HGA1C between 6.5 and 7 will do just that.

And here's an encouraging fact. If your A1C was 9 and you lower it to 8, there is a 20% reduction in risk of complications even though you aren't in the target range yet. That's good to know. You should also know that the American Diabetic Association says to get the test done every three months if your are diabetic.

Here's how it works. Hemoglobin is the medical term for red blood cells, and glycated hemoglobin is the term for red blood cells with sugar stuck to them. Over the life of a red blood cell, which is 120 days if all goes well, more and more sugar sticks to it as it travels through your bloodstream.

The amount can be measured accurately, and doctors know how much should be on each normal cell. If the level is high, that signals diabetes. The amount is reported as a percentage. That is why HGA1C numbers are so different from the readings you get from your glucose monitor.

So What's a Good Number?

This is where things get a little muddy. Depending on where you go for numbers, you'll get slightly different answers. The American Diabetes Association says a number under 7%, or 7, is a good target for a diabetic. Endocrinologists (M.D.'s who are diabetes specialists) have agreed that 6.5% is a better goal.

Non-diabetics have numbers in the range of 4-5.9%, and when the test number goes over 6.0%, some doctors tell their patients they might be diabetic. This is the danger of using the HGA1C to diagnose diabetes. Here are some reasons why.

There can be at least a half percentage point difference between two tests depending on how they are done. With home testing (a kit you can buy), the blood from a fingerstick is put on a card and mailed away to be tested.

The doctor's office test is done with a machine that gives results in 6 minutes but can be off a little because of the method. The most accurate test is done with a vial of blood at a testing facility or hospital, because they have national standards for constant recalibration, and the test is read using a more sophisticated method.

But even after an accurate test, the numbers can be read in different ways. For example, one expert says that a 6% reading means your blood sugar average for the past two or three months is 126, but another says it is 135. At 7% it might be 154 or 170. Which one is "right?"

Small discrepancies are not a problem if you know you are diabetic and are just evaluating how tight your blood sugar control is long term. But when 5.9% is normal and 6% means prediabetic according to what your doctor tells you, that tenth of a percent matters a lot for your peace of mind.

And there are other problems too. Anything that affects the life or health of red blood cells can make the hemoglobin A1C tests inaccurate for diagnosing diabetes. Any kind of anemia or illness, a change in medication, and even donating blood can affect the test. It is not used for testing gestational diabetes because of its limitations, and doctors still use the glucose tolerance test for that.

For diagnosing diabetes, the glucose tolerance test is still the best choice. Endocrinologists agree on this. So why does a family doctor use the hemoglobin A1C for diagnosing? Perhaps because he or she is not usually a diabetes specialist, and if the HGA1C is sold as the newest way to diagnose diabetes, it's going to be hard to resist.

Diabetes is probably in half of the patients over 40 in a doctor's practice, and the machine is cutting edge stuff. But the glucose tolerance test is still the best way to know if you are prediabetic, diabetic or just fine.

It takes a while but it is an accurate picture of how your body reacts to glucose. You don't have to worry. It isn't painful (unless you count fasting and a few fingersticks). So if you know someone who has been diagnosed by a hemoglobin A1C test, I hope you advise them to get the GTT test for a confirmation and to look for an endocrinologist.

I do love the A1C test, being a type 2 diabetic, because when I'm below 7 I know I'm doing well, and I have seen proof of that good blood sugar control in my own peripheral neuropathy symptoms. When the test is used for that purpose, it's fine. I love it when my doctor says, "Do you know your hemoglobin A1C?" and I say, "Yep, it's 6.8," and the doctor says, "Wow, that's great!"

Those are words I don't hear from my doctor often enough.

Martha Zimmer invites you to visit her website and learn more about type 2 diabetes, its complications and how you can deal with them, as well as great tips for eating healthy that will make living with diabetes less painful.

Go to http://www.a-diabetic-life.com and find out what you can do to avoid many of the pitfalls of this life-changing condition, like paying for cures that don't work and spending money for things you could have gotten free. Martha has made the mistakes and done the research so you don't have to.

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0 Low Hemoglobin During Pregnancy

Pregnancy gives an immense joy to would be mother. But with pregnancy comes many health related issues. One of the most common issues is low hemoglobin in the blood during pregnancy. During the pregnancy, in order to cater to the need of the fetus and the mother herself, a lot of hemoglobin is needed by the body. Unfortunately the volume of the blood increases during this time, but it decreases the hemoglobin. A decrease in hemoglobin beyond a certain degree may cause anemia which can result into further complications for the mother and the fetus.

In order to supplement hemoglobin, a pregnant woman is advised to take at least 28 to 30 mg of iron through supplements or diet. A pregnant woman must get her blood checked regularly for the hemoglobin count. If the levels are marginally low, doctors would prescribe iron medicines to shoot up the hemoglobin level to normal. Otherwise also the multivitamins that are generally taken during pregnancy do contain iron. One must also take care that the diet has enough iron rich food such as leafy green vegetables, dry fruits, seafood, lean meats, whole grains and cereals.

Few symptoms that are visible due to low hemoglobin during pregnancy are pale skin, frequent headaches from mild to severe, dizziness and unable to concentrate on any work, fatigue and weakness all the time, rapid and irregular heartbeats, irritability, shortness of breath, a tickly feeling in the palms and feet also a feeling of numbness in the feet and hands, slight chest ache, temperature of the body tends to be lower than normal, and pica, a condition where pregnant woman feels like eating strange things like mud, clay, paint and sometimes ice.

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