Hea failure cells are: March 2007

Ans. C: Pigmented alveolar macrophagesHea failure cells are hemosiderin-containing macrophages in the alveoli.The main causes are left hea failure and chronic pulmonary edema.In left hea failure, the left ventricle cannot keep pace with the incoming blood from the pulmonary veins. The resulting backup causes increased pressure on the alveolar capillaries and red blood cells leak out.Alveolar macrophages ingest the red blood cells, and become engorged with brownish hemosiderin.In pulmonary edema, alveolar septa get thick and fibrous, again increasing pressure on alveolar capillaries and resulting in leakage of red blood cells which undergo phagocvtosis by alveolar macrophages.