diff --git a/src/main.ts b/src/main.ts
index 8e73566..36f5803 100644
--- a/src/main.ts
+++ b/src/main.ts
@@ -35,10 +35,12 @@ class MqttMongo extends Events.EventEmitter {
 
   private options : any
   private msgCnt : number = 0
+  private startTime: Date
 
   constructor(options : any) {
     super()
     this.options = options
+    this.startTime = new Date()
     this.on('reconnectDatabase', this.connectToDatabase)
   }
 
@@ -47,7 +49,6 @@ class MqttMongo extends Events.EventEmitter {
   private queue : Queue.Queue<MqttMessage.MqttMessage> = new Queue.Queue<MqttMessage.MqttMessage>()
   private mqttClient : Mqtt.Client
   private heartbeatTimer : NodeJS.Timer
-  private uptime : number = 0
 
   connectToDatabase() {
     console.info("About to connect to database")
@@ -145,8 +146,8 @@ class MqttMongo extends Events.EventEmitter {
 
   setupHeartbeat() {
     this.heartbeatTimer = setInterval(() => {
-      this.uptime++
-      let statusMsg = `{'Uptime': ${this.uptime}, 'MessageCount': ${this.msgCnt}}`
+      let uptime : number = (new Date().getTime() - this.startTime.getTime()) / 1000
+      let statusMsg = `{'Uptime': ${uptime}, 'MessageCount': ${this.msgCnt}}`
       this.mqttClient.publish('MqttMongo/Status', statusMsg)
       console.info(`Status: ${statusMsg}`)
       if (! this.dbReady) {