diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 9a0604a..4e80eda 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -238,6 +238,27 @@ The same can be done without using decorators:
 bfx.wss.on("candles_update", callback=on_candles_update)
 ```
 
+### Heartbeat events
+
+The WebSocket server sends periodic heartbeat messages to keep connections alive. 
+These are now exposed as `heartbeat` events that users can listen to:
+
+```python
+@bfx.wss.on("heartbeat")
+def on_heartbeat(subscription=None):
+    if subscription:
+        # Heartbeat for a specific subscription (public channels)
+        print(f"Heartbeat for {subscription['channel']}")
+    else:
+        # Heartbeat for authenticated connection
+        print("Heartbeat on authenticated channel")
+```
+
+For public channel subscriptions, the heartbeat event includes the subscription information. 
+For authenticated connections, heartbeats are sent without subscription data.
+
+---
+
 # Advanced features
 
 ## Using custom notifications
diff --git a/bfxapi/websocket/_client/bfx_websocket_bucket.py b/bfxapi/websocket/_client/bfx_websocket_bucket.py
index fa6262f..83f85ca 100644
--- a/bfxapi/websocket/_client/bfx_websocket_bucket.py
+++ b/bfxapi/websocket/_client/bfx_websocket_bucket.py
@@ -66,9 +66,11 @@ async def start(self) -> None:
                     if (
                         (chan_id := cast(int, message[0]))
                         and (subscription := self.__subscriptions.get(chan_id))
-                        and (message[1] != Connection._HEARTBEAT)
                     ):
-                        self.__handler.handle(subscription, message[1:])
+                        if message[1] == Connection._HEARTBEAT:
+                            self.__event_emitter.emit("heartbeat", subscription)
+                        else:
+                            self.__handler.handle(subscription, message[1:])
 
     def __on_subscribed(self, message: Dict[str, Any]) -> None:
         chan_id = cast(int, message["chan_id"])
diff --git a/bfxapi/websocket/_client/bfx_websocket_client.py b/bfxapi/websocket/_client/bfx_websocket_client.py
index ffae0ad..3bca373 100644
--- a/bfxapi/websocket/_client/bfx_websocket_client.py
+++ b/bfxapi/websocket/_client/bfx_websocket_client.py
@@ -266,9 +266,11 @@ async def __connect(self) -> None:
                 if (
                     isinstance(message, list)
                     and message[0] == 0
-                    and message[1] != Connection._HEARTBEAT
                 ):
-                    self.__handler.handle(message[1], message[2])
+                    if message[1] == Connection._HEARTBEAT:
+                        self.__event_emitter.emit("heartbeat")
+                    else:
+                        self.__handler.handle(message[1], message[2])
 
     async def __new_bucket(self) -> BfxWebSocketBucket:
         bucket = BfxWebSocketBucket(self._host, self.__event_emitter)
diff --git a/bfxapi/websocket/_event_emitter/bfx_event_emitter.py b/bfxapi/websocket/_event_emitter/bfx_event_emitter.py
index 21bbfd6..97c1372 100644
--- a/bfxapi/websocket/_event_emitter/bfx_event_emitter.py
+++ b/bfxapi/websocket/_event_emitter/bfx_event_emitter.py
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@
 
 _COMMON = [
     "disconnected",
+    "heartbeat",
     "t_ticker_update",
     "f_ticker_update",
     "t_trade_execution",
diff --git a/examples/websocket/auth/heartbeat.py b/examples/websocket/auth/heartbeat.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5acb69c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/websocket/auth/heartbeat.py
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+# python -c "import examples.websocket.auth.heartbeat"
+
+import os
+
+from bfxapi import Client
+
+bfx = Client(
+    api_key=os.getenv("BFX_API_KEY"),
+    api_secret=os.getenv("BFX_API_SECRET"),
+)
+
+
+@bfx.wss.on("heartbeat")
+def on_heartbeat():
+    """
+    Handle heartbeat events from the WebSocket server for authenticated connections.
+    
+    These heartbeats are sent on the authenticated channel (channel 0) and don't
+    have an associated subscription.
+    """
+    print("Heartbeat received on authenticated connection")
+
+
+@bfx.wss.on("authenticated")
+async def on_authenticated(event):
+    print(f"Authentication successful: {event}")
+    print("Now listening for heartbeats on the authenticated connection...")
+
+
+@bfx.wss.on("open")
+async def on_open():
+    print("WebSocket connection opened")
+
+
+print("Starting authenticated WebSocket client...")
+print("You should see heartbeat events after authentication.")
+print("Press Ctrl+C to stop.")
+
+bfx.wss.run()
diff --git a/examples/websocket/public/heartbeat.py b/examples/websocket/public/heartbeat.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..12e779c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/websocket/public/heartbeat.py
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+# python -c "import examples.websocket.public.heartbeat"
+
+from bfxapi import Client
+from bfxapi.websocket.subscriptions import Subscription
+
+bfx = Client()
+
+
+@bfx.wss.on("heartbeat")
+def on_heartbeat(subscription: Subscription = None):
+    """
+    Handle heartbeat events from the WebSocket server.
+    
+    For public channels, the subscription parameter contains the subscription info.
+    For authenticated connections, subscription will be None.
+    """
+    if subscription:
+        print(f"Heartbeat received for subscription: {subscription['channel']} - {subscription.get('symbol', subscription.get('key', 'N/A'))}")
+    else:
+        print("Heartbeat received for authenticated connection")
+
+
+@bfx.wss.on("open")
+async def on_open():
+    # Subscribe to a ticker to see heartbeats for subscriptions
+    await bfx.wss.subscribe("ticker", symbol="tBTCUSD")
+
+
+@bfx.wss.on("subscribed")
+def on_subscribed(subscription: Subscription):
+    print(f"Subscribed to {subscription['channel']} for {subscription.get('symbol', subscription.get('key', 'N/A'))}")
+
+
+print("Starting WebSocket client - you should see heartbeat events...")
+print("Heartbeats are sent by the server to keep the connection alive.")
+print("Press Ctrl+C to stop.")
+
+bfx.wss.run()