diff --git a/temporal-sdk/src/main/java/io/temporal/internal/activity/ActivityExecutionContextImpl.java b/temporal-sdk/src/main/java/io/temporal/internal/activity/ActivityExecutionContextImpl.java
index 60fc46880..c223596da 100644
--- a/temporal-sdk/src/main/java/io/temporal/internal/activity/ActivityExecutionContextImpl.java
+++ b/temporal-sdk/src/main/java/io/temporal/internal/activity/ActivityExecutionContextImpl.java
@@ -156,6 +156,11 @@ public Object getLastHeartbeatValue() {
     return heartbeatContext.getLastHeartbeatDetails();
   }
 
+  @Override
+  public void cancelOutstandingHeartbeat() {
+    heartbeatContext.cancelOutstandingHeartbeat();
+  }
+
   @Override
   public WorkflowClient getWorkflowClient() {
     return client;
diff --git a/temporal-sdk/src/main/java/io/temporal/internal/activity/ActivityTaskExecutors.java b/temporal-sdk/src/main/java/io/temporal/internal/activity/ActivityTaskExecutors.java
index 672778126..a77838193 100644
--- a/temporal-sdk/src/main/java/io/temporal/internal/activity/ActivityTaskExecutors.java
+++ b/temporal-sdk/src/main/java/io/temporal/internal/activity/ActivityTaskExecutors.java
@@ -128,6 +128,12 @@ public ActivityTaskHandler.Result execute(ActivityInfoInternal info, Scope metri
             metricsScope,
             local,
             dataConverterWithActivityContext);
+      } finally {
+        if (!context.isDoNotCompleteOnReturn()) {
+          // if the activity is not completed, we need to cancel the heartbeat
+          // to avoid sending it after the activity is completed
+          context.cancelOutstandingHeartbeat();
+        }
       }
     }
 
diff --git a/temporal-sdk/src/main/java/io/temporal/internal/activity/HeartbeatContext.java b/temporal-sdk/src/main/java/io/temporal/internal/activity/HeartbeatContext.java
index aadb76fef..8a8fa3338 100644
--- a/temporal-sdk/src/main/java/io/temporal/internal/activity/HeartbeatContext.java
+++ b/temporal-sdk/src/main/java/io/temporal/internal/activity/HeartbeatContext.java
@@ -17,4 +17,7 @@ interface HeartbeatContext {
   <V> Optional<V> getHeartbeatDetails(Class<V> detailsClass, Type detailsGenericType);
 
   Object getLastHeartbeatDetails();
+
+  /** Cancel any pending heartbeat and discard cached heartbeat details. */
+  void cancelOutstandingHeartbeat();
 }
diff --git a/temporal-sdk/src/main/java/io/temporal/internal/activity/HeartbeatContextImpl.java b/temporal-sdk/src/main/java/io/temporal/internal/activity/HeartbeatContextImpl.java
index 1482fb0ea..b53e943fc 100644
--- a/temporal-sdk/src/main/java/io/temporal/internal/activity/HeartbeatContextImpl.java
+++ b/temporal-sdk/src/main/java/io/temporal/internal/activity/HeartbeatContextImpl.java
@@ -143,6 +143,20 @@ public Object getLastHeartbeatDetails() {
     }
   }
 
+  @Override
+  public void cancelOutstandingHeartbeat() {
+    lock.lock();
+    try {
+      if (scheduledHeartbeat != null) {
+        scheduledHeartbeat.cancel(false);
+        scheduledHeartbeat = null;
+      }
+      hasOutstandingHeartbeat = false;
+    } finally {
+      lock.unlock();
+    }
+  }
+
   private void doHeartBeatLocked(Object details) {
     long nextHeartbeatDelay;
     try {
diff --git a/temporal-sdk/src/main/java/io/temporal/internal/activity/InternalActivityExecutionContext.java b/temporal-sdk/src/main/java/io/temporal/internal/activity/InternalActivityExecutionContext.java
index 2468a0629..1b65e32cd 100644
--- a/temporal-sdk/src/main/java/io/temporal/internal/activity/InternalActivityExecutionContext.java
+++ b/temporal-sdk/src/main/java/io/temporal/internal/activity/InternalActivityExecutionContext.java
@@ -9,4 +9,7 @@
 public interface InternalActivityExecutionContext extends ActivityExecutionContext {
   /** Get the latest value of {@link ActivityExecutionContext#heartbeat(Object)}. */
   Object getLastHeartbeatValue();
+
+  /** Cancel any pending heartbeat and discard cached heartbeat details. */
+  void cancelOutstandingHeartbeat();
 }
diff --git a/temporal-sdk/src/main/java/io/temporal/internal/activity/LocalActivityExecutionContextImpl.java b/temporal-sdk/src/main/java/io/temporal/internal/activity/LocalActivityExecutionContextImpl.java
index 244f9ce92..225bf4e20 100644
--- a/temporal-sdk/src/main/java/io/temporal/internal/activity/LocalActivityExecutionContextImpl.java
+++ b/temporal-sdk/src/main/java/io/temporal/internal/activity/LocalActivityExecutionContextImpl.java
@@ -79,6 +79,11 @@ public Object getLastHeartbeatValue() {
     return null;
   }
 
+  @Override
+  public void cancelOutstandingHeartbeat() {
+    // Ignored
+  }
+
   @Override
   public WorkflowClient getWorkflowClient() {
     return client;
diff --git a/temporal-sdk/src/test/java/io/temporal/workflow/activityTests/ActivityTimeoutTest.java b/temporal-sdk/src/test/java/io/temporal/workflow/activityTests/ActivityTimeoutTest.java
index 5b73f30d5..1079da21a 100644
--- a/temporal-sdk/src/test/java/io/temporal/workflow/activityTests/ActivityTimeoutTest.java
+++ b/temporal-sdk/src/test/java/io/temporal/workflow/activityTests/ActivityTimeoutTest.java
@@ -49,11 +49,9 @@
  */
 @RunWith(JUnitParamsRunner.class)
 public class ActivityTimeoutTest {
-  // TODO This test takes longer than it should to complete because
-  //  of the cached heartbeat that prevents a quick shutdown
   @Rule
   public SDKTestWorkflowRule testWorkflowRule =
-      SDKTestWorkflowRule.newBuilder().setTestTimeoutSeconds(15).setDoNotStart(true).build();
+      SDKTestWorkflowRule.newBuilder().setDoNotStart(true).build();
 
   /**
    * An activity reaches startToClose timeout once, max retries are set to 1. o