Quick Q&A : Does a Lipid Panel Include A1C?

If you have ever looked at a lab requisition and wondered why your doctor ordered two separate tests instead of one, you are not alone. Lab forms can feel overwhelming, and the abbreviations do not help. This is your Clinical Mama breakdown of exactly what each test does, why they are different, and why your provider might order both at the same visit. And if you are just getting started with reading your results, my beginner’s guide to understanding your lab work: CBC, A1C and Lipids Explained is a great place to start.

What Does a Lipid Panel Test?

A lipid panel, sometimes called a lipid profile, measures the fats circulating in your blood. Think of it as a snapshot of your cardiovascular health. It typically includes five key markers:

• Total cholesterol: The big picture number. It combines your LDL, HDL, and a portion of your triglycerides into one overall reading.
• LDL cholesterol: Often called the “bad” cholesterol, and for good reason. High LDL levels increase your risk of heart attack, stroke, and other serious health problems.
• HDL cholesterol: This is the one you want higher. HDL is the “good” cholesterol that actually helps protect your heart by lowering your risk of heart attack and stroke.
• Non-HDL cholesterol: Simply your total cholesterol minus your HDL. It captures all the cholesterol types that can contribute to cardiovascular risk.
• Triglycerides: Not technically cholesterol, but still an important piece of the puzzle. Triglycerides are a separate type of fat in your blood, and elevated levels have also been linked to increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

Together, these numbers give your provider a clear picture of your cardiovascular risk, specifically around heart attack and stroke prevention.

Who Should Get Screened

Guidelines recommend lipid panel testing for children with a family history of dyslipidemia or early heart disease, and for men and women aged 40 and over, including postmenopausal women. If you have other risk factors, your doctor may recommend starting screening earlier. The most important thing is to have an open conversation with your provider about your personal risk so you know exactly where you stand.

Recommended Targets

Talk to your healthcare provider for individualized goals. In general, people who do not already have heart disease should aim for:

What is A1C Test?

The A1C test goes by a few names: glycated hemoglobin, HbA1c, or simply A1C. Whatever your provider calls it, it measures one important thing: how well your blood sugar has been controlled over the past 90 days, expressed as a percentage.

Here is the science behind it, broken down simply.

Hemoglobin is a protein found in your red blood cells. Its main job is to carry oxygen from your lungs to every cell in your body. But here is the part that makes the A1C test so useful: glucose from your bloodstream naturally attaches to hemoglobin in a process called glycation. The higher your blood sugar levels, the more glucose binds to your hemoglobin, and the higher your A1C number will be.

Because red blood cells live for about 90 days before being replaced, the A1C test essentially captures a two to three month average of your blood sugar levels. That makes it far more informative than a single fasting glucose reading, which only tells you what your blood sugar is doing on that one day.

It is used both to screen for diabetes and to monitor blood sugar control in people who have already been diagnosed. If you have been told your A1C is elevated, it is not a one-day snapshot. It is a pattern, and that is exactly why it matters.

What does the Value mean

Side-by-Side: Lipid Panel vs. A1C

These two tests measure completely different things, but your provider may order both at the same visit to get a full picture of your metabolic health. One needle stick, two important answers.

Why Are They Often Ordered Together?

Because your body doesn’t work in silos and neither should your lab work.

Metabolic health is deeply interconnected. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that includes high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar (hyperglycemia), and abnormal cholesterol or triglyceride levels (dyslipidemia). It doesn’t appear as a single problem. It shows up as several, all at once, all connected.

Here’s why that matters for your labs: insulin resistance, the underlying driver of type 2 diabetes, is also directly linked to high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol, and increased cardiovascular risk. That means the same metabolic dysfunction that raises your A1C can also quietly wreck your lipid numbers, and vice versa. Checking one without the other can leave half the story untold.

That’s why a smart provider won’t just test your blood sugar or your cholesterol in isolation. When they’re doing a full metabolic workup, ordering both tests at the same blood draw gives them the complete picture, identifying not just where you are today, but flagging your risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes before they fully develop.

You’ll commonly see both ordered together at:

• Annual wellness visits
• Metabolic syndrome screening
• Cardiovascular risk assessments
• Pre-diabetes follow-up appointments

So while a lipid panel and an A1C are two separate tests, don’t be surprised if your provider checks both on the same day.

What If My Doctor Only Ordered One?

Don’t assume. If you were only handed a requisition for a lipid panel, you would not get your A1C checked, and vice versa. If you have risk factors for diabetes (family history, weight changes, fatigue, frequent urination), it’s completely reasonable to ask:

“Should we also check my A1C while we’re at it?”

Advocating for your own lab work is part of being your own best health advocate.

Clinical Mama Takeaway

A lipid panel does not include A1C. They test different markers, serve different purposes, and must be ordered separately. But different does not mean unrelated.

Insulin resistance, the driving force behind an elevated A1C, is also directly linked to abnormal cholesterol levels and increased cardiovascular risk. Your lipid panel tells your provider what is happening with your heart health. Your A1C tells them what is happening with your blood sugar. Together, they paint a much fuller picture of your metabolic health than either test can alone.

So if your provider orders both at your next visit, that is not something to worry about. That is thorough care, and you deserve nothing less. And if you are just getting started with understanding your results, my beginner’s guide to lab work is the best place to start.

Want early access to new posts, wellness resources, and family health tools? Join the Clinical Mama community and stay in the loop.

❓Frequently Asked Questions

📚References

1. Pearson, G. J., Thanassoulis, G., Anderson, T. J., Barry, A. R., Couture, P., Dayan, N., … & Wray, W. (2021). 2021 Canadian Cardiovascular Society guidelines for the management of dyslipidemia for the prevention of cardiovascular disease in adults. Canadian journal of cardiology, 37(8), 1129-1150.
2. Eyth, E., Zubair, M., & Naik, R. (2025). Hemoglobin A1c. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing.
3. Han, T. S., & Lean, M. E. (2015). Metabolic syndrome. Medicine, 43(2), 80-87.
4. Huang, P. L. (2009). A comprehensive definition for metabolic syndrome. Disease models & mechanisms, 2(5-6), 231-237.
5. Wexler Deborah J. Overview of general medical care in nonpregnant adults with diabetes mellitus: UpToDate. Retrieved May 11, 2026, from https://www.uptodate.com/contents/overview-of-general-medical-care-in-nonpregnant-adults-with-diabetes-mellitus?search=a1c%20goal%20basic&source=search_result&selectedTitle=1~150&usage_type=default&display_rank=1&searchCorrelationId=3e17acef-3868-439c-b566-474f586a5f15&searchCorrelationTerm=a1c%20goal%20basic
6. Tangney Christine C. Rosenson, Robert S. Lipid management with diet or dietary supplements: UpToDate. Retrieved May 11 , 2026, from https://www.uptodate.com/contents/lipid-management-with-diet-or-dietary-supplements?search=cholesterol%20diet&source=search_result&selectedTitle=2~150&usage_type=default&display_rank=2&searchCorrelationId=6749fa4b-c718-4f56-8b79-37e2f0ed7612&searchCorrelationTerm=cholesterol%20diet
7. Hennekens, Charles H. Overview of primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in adults: UpToDate. Retrieved May 11, 2026, from https://www.uptodate.com/contents/overview-of-primary-prevention-of-cardiovascular-disease-in-adults?search=dyslipidemia&source=search_result&selectedTitle=7~150&usage_type=default&display_rank=6&searchCorrelationId=0e19ff93-c4ac-4c8e-ac27-1035aa01ec06&searchCorrelationTerm=dyslipidemia
8. Dyslipidemia (CPS): Dyslipidemia Paquette, M. Baass, A. https://cps2.pharmacists.ca/document/therapeuticchoices/dyslipidemias
9. Diabetes Mellitus (CPS): Diabetes Mellitus. Mansell, K. Amason, Terra. https://cps2.pharmacists.ca/document/therapeuticchoices/diabetes_mellitus