diff --git a/scripts/vm/hypervisor/kvm/kvmheartbeat.sh b/scripts/vm/hypervisor/kvm/kvmheartbeat.sh
index ff6fd0ab6a0..7c8ee67f30c 100755
--- a/scripts/vm/hypervisor/kvm/kvmheartbeat.sh
+++ b/scripts/vm/hypervisor/kvm/kvmheartbeat.sh
@@ -156,7 +156,8 @@ then
 elif [ "$cflag" == "1" ]
 then
   /usr/bin/logger -t heartbeat "kvmheartbeat.sh rebooted system because it was unable to write the heartbeat to the storage."
-  sync
+  sync &
+  sleep 5
   echo b > /proc/sysrq-trigger
   exit $?
 else