- One of the following in order to establish Stage A HF a. Hypertension b. Diabetes mellitus (controlled: defined as hemoglobin A1c less than 9%) c. Obesity (defined as BMI greater than 30 kg/m2) d. Metabolic syndrome (using the National Cholesterol Education Panel definition) e. Left ventricular hypertrophy (by ECG) f. Coronary or cerebrovascular arterial disease