diff --git a/go/vt/discovery/healthcheck.go b/go/vt/discovery/healthcheck.go
index 8a840dd3471..864d25cc89a 100644
--- a/go/vt/discovery/healthcheck.go
+++ b/go/vt/discovery/healthcheck.go
@@ -576,6 +576,10 @@ func (hc *HealthCheckImpl) checkConn(hcc *healthCheckConn, name string) {
 		case <-time.After(retryDelay):
 			// Exponentially back-off to prevent tight-loop.
 			retryDelay *= 2
+			// Limit the retry delay backoff to the health check timeout
+			if retryDelay > hc.healthCheckTimeout {
+				retryDelay = hc.healthCheckTimeout
+			}
 		}
 	}
 }