We would like to begin by expressing our gratitude for the interest shown in our research [1,2].
We agree that a composite carotid intima–media thickness (CIMT) measurement that includes the common carotid artery (CCA), the carotid bifurcation and internal carotid artery (ICA) could provide more accurate measurement, but this type of measurement was not conducted for several reasons. First, as already mentioned, there is no universally accepted standardized measurement protocol and most studies were performed using only CCA IMT [3]. CCA IMT is a well-known marker of atherosclerosis and its association with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events has been proven repeatedly [4,5,6]. The measurement of CCA IMT is easier to obtain and is highly reliable with less variability in measurements [6,7].
To conclude, although we agree our study protocol has its limitations, we believe that it provided more feasible patient examination and more comparable results.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Footnotes
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