A 52-year-old female is being seen for bloody vomitus for the last two days. She has a history of esophageal varices. What disease process is caused by esophageal varices? Explain to the patient the pathology of the disorder and how she can be treated.

Citations and references must be written using the latest APA manual format. Websites, Wikipedia, Google Scholar and other non-academic references are not peer-reviewed. Your references should be peer-reviewed materials published within the past five years or hallmark articles relevant to the topic.