Endothelial function as assessed by the brachial artery method was used, following the protocol described by Celermajer et al.[3] that measures dilation of the brachial artery by ultrasound after transient arterial occlusion (GE VingMed Vivid
FiVe ultrasound system; GE, Milwaukee, WI) (using a 10.0-mHz linear array transducer), as described previously.[30]