The patients were divided into two groups with 1 to 1 fashion; atorvastatin 10 mg treatment group (group I: low dose group, n = 35, 54.2 ± 12.5 years, 16 males) versus atorvastatin 40 mg treatment group (group II: high dose group, n = 35, 52.6 ± 9.8 years, 17 males). The study

protocol was approved by the Institutional GX15-070 order Review Board of our institution and informed consent was obtained from each patient. Exclusion criteria included 1) prior history of coronary intervention or myocardial infarction, 2) significant arrhythmias including atrial fibrillation, 3) combined cardiac diseases Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical including significant valvular heart diseases or cardiomyopathy or heart failure, 4) elevated cardiac enzymes, 5) systolic blood pressure ≥ 160 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 100 mmHg, 6) known hepatic Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical dysfunction or renal insufficiency, 7) vasculitis disorders, 8) prior use of statins, 9) major life threatening illness. Measurement of FMD FMD of the brachial artery was measured according to the previously described recommendation as a non-invasive parameter of endothelial function.4)

Baseline and follow-up FMD studies were done by single well trained registered Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical diagnostic cardiac sonographer in early morning after an overnight fasting in all patients. Baseline FMD study was done before the use of statin, and follow-up FMD study was done after the discontinuation of statin for at least 24 hours. Vasoactive substances were also discontinued

for at least 24 hours before FMD study. A 10 MHz high Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical resolution linear vascular ultrasound transducer (Vivid 7, GE, Milwaukee, WI, USA) was used to image the brachial artery longitudinally just above the antecubital fossa. The tourniquet measuring Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical blood pressure was placed on the forearm in order to create shear stress induced by reactive hyperemia. The diameter of the brachial artery was measured at the onset of the R-wave on electrocardiogram. After baseline measurements of the brachial artery diameter, the blood pressure cuff was inflated to at least 50 mmHg above systolic blood pressure to occlude arterial flow for 5 minutes. Subsequent deflation of the cuff induces a brief high already flow state through the brachial artery (reactive hyperemia) to accommodate the dilated resistance vessels. The resulting increase in shear stress causes the brachial artery to dilate. The brachial artery was imaged for the first 2 minutes of reactive hyperemia continuously. The flow-mediated dilatory response was used as a measure of endothelium dependent vasodilation. After the 10 minutes of rest to reestablish baseline condition, 0.6 mg of nitroglycerin was administered sublingually. The brachial artery was imaged for 5 minutes continuously to measure peak diameter. The dilatory response to nitroglycerin was used as a measure of endothelium independent vasodilation.