diff --git a/validator/config.py b/validator/config.py
index b4fb4225..93638445 100644
--- a/validator/config.py
+++ b/validator/config.py
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@
 SEND_HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL_SECONDS = os.getenv("SEND_HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL_SECONDS")
 if not SEND_HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL_SECONDS:
     logger.fatal("SEND_HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL_SECONDS is not set in .env")
-SEND_HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL_SECONDS = int(SEND_HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL_SECONDS) 
+SEND_HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL_SECONDS = max(int(SEND_HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL_SECONDS), 10) # minimum 10 seconds
 
 SET_WEIGHTS_INTERVAL_SECONDS = os.getenv("SET_WEIGHTS_INTERVAL_SECONDS")
 if not SET_WEIGHTS_INTERVAL_SECONDS: