A 48-year-old man presents to his gastroenterologist for increasing abdominal girth and increasing jaundice

A 48-year-old man presents to his gastroenterologist for increasing abdominal girth and increasing jaundice

A 48-year-old man presents to his gastroenterologist for increasing abdominal girth and increasing jaundice. He has a long history of alcoholic cirrhosis and has multiple admissions for encephalopathy and GI bleeding from esophageal varices. He has been diagnosed with portal hypertension and tells the APRN that he was told he had chronic, non-curable cirrhosis.

Question:

How does cirrhosis cause portal hypertension?