Measurement of FMD and CIMT
FMD and CIMT were performed by a single assessor with transthoracic echocardiography iE33xMATRIX ultrasound system (Philips Medical Systems) according to the recommendations in the guidelines(23) . FMD was evaluated using the method described in the previous reports (24, 25). FMD % was calculated with the formula below.
FMD (%) = (brachial artery maximum diameter − brachial artery diameter at rest) × 100 / brachial artery diameter at rest (24)
CIMT was defined as the distance between lumen-intima and the media-adventitia of the carotid arterial wall on the ultrasound. Carotid artery measurements were applied in supine position according to the recommendations. The mean CIMT was calculated from six measurements obtained in two scans (26).