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).