So stress can increase the risk of atherosclerosis. Form enough atherosclerotic plaques to seriously obstruct flow to the lower half of the body and you get claudication, which means that your legs and chest hurt like hell for lack of oxygen and glucose whenever you walk; you are then a candidate for bypass surgery. If the same thing happens to the arteries going to your heart, you can get coronary heart disease, myocardial ischemia, all sorts of horrible things.
