Arterial Diseases
Understanding Vascular Diseases
Written byTriantafyllos Giannakopoulos MD, PhD, FEBVS, FACSMedically reviewed: 27 July 2026
Artery Function
Understanding Artery Function
Arteries carry oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the body under pressure equal to the Arterial Pressure measured by a blood pressure monitor. Arteries have three layers:
Inner Layer
An inner layer.
Middle Layer
A middle layer of muscle.
Outer Layer
An outer layer of connective tissue.
Ischemia
Ischemia
Ischemia is the reduction of arterial supply where the arteries providing blood to a region of the body do not function adequately, with arterial blood decreasing and thus reducing both oxygen and energy in that specific region.
The symptoms experienced by the patient are due to dysfunction of this region and are more intense the less blood reaches the tissues. The damage caused by the lack of blood in the tissues of the affected region may be permanent or not, depending on the sensitivity of each region to oxygen deprivation (the most sensitive tissue is neural tissue, specifically that of the brain) and the duration of blood (oxygen) deprivation in that specific region.
Symptoms
Symptoms are more intense the less blood reaches the tissues and are due to dysfunction of that specific region.
Tissue Sensitivity
The most sensitive tissue is neural tissue, specifically that of the brain. The damage depends on the duration of oxygen deprivation.
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