diff --git a/src/Bunny/AbstractClient.php b/src/Bunny/AbstractClient.php
index 9c4d1c0..e9122ba 100644
--- a/src/Bunny/AbstractClient.php
+++ b/src/Bunny/AbstractClient.php
@@ -130,6 +130,8 @@ public function __construct(array $options = [])
 
         if (!isset($options["heartbeat"])) {
             $options["heartbeat"] = 60.0;
+        } elseif ($options["heartbeat"] == 0) {
+            throw new InvalidArgumentException("Heartbeat can not be zero.");
         } elseif ($options["heartbeat"] >= 2**15) {
             throw new InvalidArgumentException("Heartbeat too high: the value is a signed int16.");
         }