This document discusses the management of variceal hemorrhage, a lethal complication of cirrhosis. It covers the natural history of varices, including that 7% of patients develop or see variceal growth each year. Large varices, presence of red signs, advanced liver disease, and previous hemorrhage predict the 1-year risk of first hemorrhage, which is 12-15%. The risk of recurrent hemorrhage within 1 year is 60%, with 15-20% mortality per acute bleeding episode. It also discusses methods of risk stratification for portal hypertension and their ability to predict outcomes.