Answer:
This doesn't seem to really be a physics problem:
In physics stress is usually defined as Young's Modulus or Bulk Modulus
In the case of Young's Modulus Y would be defined as
Y = Stress / Strain or Force / Area
So the stress would be the force acting on some particular area: in the case of a wire the area is merely the area of the wire where the force is applied.
So maybe, they mean that stress would be an increase in blood pressure or some other physiological reaction due to an externally applied force.