The sample size calculation was based on previous observations and the following assumptions: (1) expected Δ IMT = 0.02 mm between thrombotic patients and controls; (2) expected SD = 0.5 mm; (
α = 0.05. Therefore, we needed two groups (e.g., thrombotic patients and controls) of at least 55 patients each. Categorical variables were described as frequencies, and comparisons were performed by Fisher's exact test. The normality assumption was assessed by Shapiro–Wilk normality test. The ANOVA test was performed for parametric variables and the Kruskal–Wallis test was used for non-parametric variables. Items of interest were assessed by logistic regression analyses. Results were expressed as odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). All statistical analyses were performed using GraphPad Prism 7 (GraphPad Software Inc., California, United States) and the PAWS Statistics 17.0.2 (SPSS Inc.) for Windows.