heartbeat

plural heartbeats

1. One pulsation of the heart; especially an irregular one, hence the emotion which causes it.

   He alone gives me such heartbeats.

   2 more examples

   The policeman waited for a heartbeat in vain.

   Both CRT-Ds and ICDs are implanted under the skin, in the patient’s upper chest area. The devices have wires called leads that attach to the heart and regulate the rhythm of the muscle. Defibrillators help patients with bradycardia – a slow heartbeat – by pacing the heartbeat and those with tachycardia – a fast heartbeat – by delivering shocks that reset heartbeats to normal.

   2016 October 11, Hailey Middlebrook, “After 2 deaths, patients warned about heart defibrillators’ failed batteries”, in CNN

2. The rhythm at which a heart pulsates, a cardiac indicator.

   If your heartbeat doesn't normalize soon, consult a doctor!

   Synonyms: pulse

3. A driving impulse or vital force; the vital center of something.

   Music is the heartbeat of the people.

   1 more example

   Dream Body Recovery is just one of countless recovery houses that have cropped up in Miami, which has become the heartbeat of the B.B.L. boom in the United States. The average price of a B.B.L. nationwide is around $5,000, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

   2022 May 11, Sandra E. Garcia, “Butt Lifts Are Booming. Healing Is No Joke.”, in The New York Times Magazine, archived from the original on 14 May 2022

4. A very short space of time; an instant.

   The ambulance arrived in a heartbeat.

   1 more example

   Cause I love you more than life Take a bullet for you I swear, I swear In a heartbeat

   2014, “Bullet”, Robbie Williams et al. (lyrics)

5. computingA periodic signal generated by hardware or software to indicate normal operation or to synchronize other parts of a system.