Articles on Vascular Disease — Prof. Dr. Yusuf Kalko (Istanbul)

The practical difference: an article begins with what you notice and helps you find the right direction; a condition page begins with a diagnosis and explains the treatment, how it is done and who it suits. If you already know your diagnosis, start from the vascular diseases overview. If you are starting from a symptom, start here.

Arteries

Leg Pain When Walking (Claudication): Is It Peripheral Artery Disease?Cramping calf pain that starts after a set distance and stops when you stand still — and what separates it from spinal claudication.Carotid Artery Disease and Stroke Prevention: What You Need to KnowHow a neck-artery plaque causes a stroke, which warning signs are typical and which are not, and who should actually be screened.Diabetic Foot and Limb Salvage: Can Amputation Be Avoided?What decides the fate of a diabetic foot: neuropathic versus ischaemic ulcers, offloading, and why a small amputation is not a failure.

Self-assessment tools

These run in your browser, store nothing, and are prompts to get checked rather than diagnoses. All nine are listed on the health tools page.

Is It Your Leg Circulation?Nine questions on the symptoms of narrowed leg arteries — and the two answers that should not wait.Varicose Vein Self-AssessmentEight questions on venous symptoms, the stages of venous disease, and what the ultrasound settles.10-Year Cardiovascular RiskThe Framingham estimate in mmol/L or mg/dL — and an honest account of what it leaves out.Why Is My Leg Swollen?One leg or both, sudden or gradual: the two questions that separate a clot from vein disease from a systemic cause.Blood Pressure ClassifierThe same reading, classified under both the European and American systems — and why they disagree.Cholesterol InterpreterLDL, HDL and triglycerides read together — plus non-HDL and the ratio your report leaves out.

Heart rhythm

What Should Your Pulse Rate Be?Normal resting ranges by age, how to count properly for a full 60 seconds, and the question that matters more than the number: is it regular?

Veins

Comparing Varicose Vein Treatments: Laser, Radiofrequency, VenaSeal and FoamA practical comparison of laser, radiofrequency, glue and foam — and what determines which one suits your vein.Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT): Symptoms, Causes and When It Is an EmergencyThe warning signs of a clot in a leg vein, the emergency symptoms that point to the lungs, and what not to wait on.

Cannot find your symptom here?

These articles cover the most common presentations, not all of them. The vascular diseases overview sets out the types and symptoms together, and the contact page explains what to send so that a first assessment is as accurate as it can be before an examination.

How to read these articles

• A description of symptoms is not a diagnosis. One complaint can have several causes, and telling them apart needs an examination and imaging.
• Imaging comes before the decision. A colour Doppler scan is usually the first test because it uses no radiation and no contrast dye and can be repeated.
• Not every narrowing needs an intervention. Follow-up, medical treatment and risk-factor control are a legitimate plan in their own right.
• A second opinion is reasonable. If you have been told a vessel “cannot be opened”, that assessment is worth reviewing — see peripheral artery disease and diabetic foot.

Getting in touch

For information and appointments with Prof. Dr. Yusuf Kalko in Istanbul, see the contact page — it explains what to send with a first message and what happens afterwards. His academic and professional background, with dates and figures, is on the about page.

See also: second opinion and limb salvage and awake carotid surgery.

See also: dialysis fistula and VenaSeal glue treatment.