Summary. Esophageal varices are large or swollen blood vessels around the esophagus. If they rupture and the blood leaks, it can cause serious complications.EverythingyouneedtoknowaboutesophagealvaricesMedicallyreviewedbySaurabhSethi,M.D.,MPH—WrittenbyClaireSissonsonMay29,2020DefinitionCausesSymptomsRiskfactorsDiagnosisTypesTreatmentPreventionSummaryVaricesarelargeorswollenbloodvessels,whichcanbelocatedaroundtheesophagus.Themostcommoncauseofesophagealvaricesisscarringoftheliver.Varicesmaybesmallorlarge,andthebiggertheyare,themoreserioustheybecome.Thevesselscanrupture,inwhichcasetreatmentfocusesonpreventingbleedingbyclosingthevessels.Doctorsmayalsorecommendmedicationtoreducebloodpressure.Inthisarticle,wedescribethetypesandcausesofesophagealvarices,aswellasthetreatmentoptionsavailable.DefinitionShareonPinterestEsophagealvaricesarelarge,swollenbloodvessels,suchasveins,aroundtheesophagus.Themostcommoncauseisportalhypertension,whichmostcommonlyresultsfromlivercirrhosis.Theveinsintheesophagusconnecttotheliver.Theseveinscanbecomeswollenwhenthereisanobstructionintheflowofbloodtotheliver.Thisobstructioncausesbloodtocollectinconnectingvessels,includingthoseintheesophagus.Astheesophagealveinsaresmallandhavethinwalls,theycannotcontainlargeamountsofblood.Therefore,theincreaseinbloodflowcancausetheveinstoswellandrupture.Arupturecanbedangerousandevenfatal.Anyonewhosuspectsthattheyhaveableedingesophagealvariceshouldreceiveimmediatemedicalattention.CausesCirrhosisisseverescarringofthelivercausedbyadisease,suchashepatitisC.Itisthemostcommonunderlyingcauseofesophagealvarices.Amongpeoplewithcirrhosis,30%havevariceswhentheliverissueisdiagnosed.Withinthefirstyearafterdiagnosis,5%ofsmallvaricesand15%oflargevaricesbleed.Portalhypertensionisacomplicationofcirrhosis.Ithappenswhenscartissueblockstheflowofbloodaroundtheliver.Thisleadstohighbloodpressureintheportalvein,whichcarriesbloodfromotherorganstotheliver.Ifbloodflowaroundtheliverisrestricted,thebodysendsbloodviaveinsinthestomachoresophag