What it means
An artery is a vessel that carries blood away from the heart. Arteries have thick, muscular, elastic walls able to withstand the pressure generated by each heartbeat.
Almost all arteries carry oxygenated blood; the pulmonary arteries are the exception, carrying deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs. The smallest arteries are called arterioles.
Arterial disease characteristically causes problems of supply — pain on exertion, tissue damage, or sudden loss of function when a vessel blocks.
In practice
Named individually in reports: the coronary arteries supplying the heart, the carotid arteries supplying the brain, the femoral arteries supplying the legs.
Atherosclerosis describes the build-up of fatty plaque within arterial walls and underlies most arterial disease.
Why it matters
Arterial narrowing is the mechanism behind angina, most strokes and peripheral arterial disease. The risk factors are shared: smoking, high blood pressure, raised cholesterol, diabetes and inactivity.
Sudden complete arterial blockage is a time-critical emergency, whether in the heart, brain or a limb.
Clinically reviewed by Dr Mohammad Zubair Khan, GMC 7563469
Last reviewed
August 30, 2026