Vascular disease is a possible complication of diabetes. It is caused by "atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) due to a thickening of the lining of the arteries (the intima). The arteries are blood vessels that supply blood, oxygen and nutrients, to the body from the heart. Atherosclerosis is a condition leading to narrow, hardened arteries so that there is insufficient blood flow to satisfy the needs of the tissue in question." Atherosclerosis (or arteriosclerosis, that is, the hardening of the arteries), which causes vascular disease, is the congestion of the walls of the arteries arising out of the build up of plaque in the walls of the arteries. This build up of plaque narrows the arteries and reduces the smooth blood flow through the arteries. This narrowing does not happen sud