I lost my father to an esophageal hemorrhage a week ago. In his case, it wasn't caused by alcoholism, but by cancer of the liver and esophagus. But basically the same thing happened to him. He was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus two weeks before he died, and it quickly spread to his liver. And like your husband, once the liver begins to fail, it puts pressure in the veins in the esophagus. At first it was a slow bleed and he threw up small amounts of blood, so we took him to the emergency room. But by the next day, due to his blood's inability to clot properly, the flow began to increase and it backed up into his lungs. And when the pressure became too great, the vein burst and he hemorrhaged to death in minutes.
We noticed he looked jaundiced 2-3 days before he died. He also was extremely weak, tired, and had periods of confusion. I've since learned that ALL esophagus varices (bleeding veins) are accompanied by liver disease. So if your alcoholic loved one has experienced a previous esophageal varix, then he/she most certainly also has chirrosis of the liver. So it's important to get your alcoholic loved-ones prompt medical help if you notice them begin to vomit blood, even small amounts.