How can childhood trauma affect health? Dr. Timothy J. Ainger, assistant professor of neurology at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, explains how stress causes the body’s adrenal glands to release the hormone cortisol, which causes higher blood pressure, a faster heart rate, and tense muscles. These changes help a person respond to stress in the short term. However, if stress is chronic and these effects are long-lasting, they start to damage the body, leading to chronic disease.