diff --git a/src/Discord.Net.WebSocket/DiscordSocketClient.cs b/src/Discord.Net.WebSocket/DiscordSocketClient.cs
index 793d2b29c..c51ece23b 100644
--- a/src/Discord.Net.WebSocket/DiscordSocketClient.cs
+++ b/src/Discord.Net.WebSocket/DiscordSocketClient.cs
@@ -207,7 +207,8 @@ namespace Discord.WebSocket
                 await heartbeatTask.ConfigureAwait(false);
             _heartbeatTask = null;
 
-            while (_heartbeatTimes.TryDequeue(out long time)) { }
+            // Check if hearbeatTimes is not empty before dequeuing. TryDequeue can cause blocking.
+            if (!_heartbeatTimes.IsEmpty) while (_heartbeatTimes.TryDequeue(out long time)) { }
             _lastMessageTime = 0;
 
             await _gatewayLogger.DebugAsync("Waiting for guild downloader").ConfigureAwait(false);