Have you heard about “time in range” and how it can help you manage your diabetes?
What is your HbA1C? Are you happy with your HbA1C? As people living with diabetes, you are often faced with these questions.
As you already know, your doctor conducts an HbA1C test to check how well you are managing your glucose levels and may do this several times a year.
This HbA1c test has dominated diabetes care discussions for more than 30 years, and with good reason, as its use is supported by robust clinical evidence.
The problem, however, is that patients with similar HbA1C’s, might have very different blood glucose levels .
People are now recognising the limitations of HbA1C and the new kid on block that everyone is now talking about is “Time in Range”. “Time in range” is the amount or percentage of time a person spends in their target range of 3.9 mmol/L and 10 mmol/L. You can obtain your “Time in Range” when you use a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device.
“Time in range defines the daily experience of living with diabetes.” 1
But, why is ”Time in Range” important?
“Time in Range” provides additional insights beyond HbA1c. HbA1c is an average that does not capture many important variables, including time spent in high or low.” Time in Range” provides visibility how much time you spend in high and low glucose levels throughout the day.
Let us look at a traffic analogy – let’s see how an average number can mask danger:
An average speed of 85 kilometers per hour will not reflect times when a vehicle is racing at 130 kilometers per hour or crawling in congested traffic at 40 kilometers per hour.
Similarly, A1C reflects an average level of glucose in the blood over the last two to three months and masks the occurrence and frequency of dangerous highs and lows, also known as glucose variability. With insights into glucose variability, you and your doctor have comprehensive data to make decisions around your diabetes management.
With Guardian™ Connect (Medtronic’s real-time, stand-alone CGM system) you can track your glucose levels and your activities instantly, using your compatible smart device. A quick glimpse at the mobile screen will let you know your current glucose level, glucose trends and how fast it is trending. But there’s more.
Setting-up low and high alerts is easy and can free-up your mind, knowing you’ll be alerted if you’re heading towards a hypo or hyper.
The Guardian™ Connect system uses smart technology to predict when you are going too high or low. It’s the only currently CGM system currently available that can alert you about predicted highs and lows anytime from 10 to 60 minutes in advance, right on your smart phone.
Medtronic Guardian™ Connect is the ultimate tool to help you continually monitor your glucose levels.
What more? It’s also easy to share your glucose reading with family or friends. They can even receive a text message when you are predicted to drop below your target range.
Guardian™ Connect can help you to feel safe, and free-up your mind to focus on enjoying the moment.
References
1 https://diatribe.org, “Patient Priorities for Diabetes Drugs: What Does Success Look Like?”, posted on August 29, 2016. Online survey, 3'455 diabetic patients, August 2016
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