diff --git a/beacon-chain/rpc/eth/node/handlers.go b/beacon-chain/rpc/eth/node/handlers.go
index 6143fe435899..7ccae43ed4ad 100644
--- a/beacon-chain/rpc/eth/node/handlers.go
+++ b/beacon-chain/rpc/eth/node/handlers.go
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ func (*Server) GetVersion(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 
 // GetHealth returns node health status in http status codes. Useful for load balancers.
 func (s *Server) GetHealth(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
-	_, span := trace.StartSpan(r.Context(), "node.GetHealth")
+	ctx, span := trace.StartSpan(r.Context(), "node.GetHealth")
 	defer span.End()
 
 	rawSyncingStatus, syncingStatus, ok := shared.UintFromQuery(w, r, "syncing_status", false)
@@ -119,10 +119,14 @@ func (s *Server) GetHealth(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		return
 	}
 
-	if s.SyncChecker.Synced() {
+	optimistic, err := s.OptimisticModeFetcher.IsOptimistic(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		httputil.HandleError(w, "Could not check optimistic status: "+err.Error(), http.StatusInternalServerError)
+	}
+	if s.SyncChecker.Synced() && !optimistic {
 		return
 	}
-	if s.SyncChecker.Syncing() || s.SyncChecker.Initialized() {
+	if s.SyncChecker.Syncing() || optimistic {
 		if rawSyncingStatus != "" {
 			w.WriteHeader(intSyncingStatus)
 		} else {
@@ -130,5 +134,6 @@ func (s *Server) GetHealth(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		}
 		return
 	}
+
 	w.WriteHeader(http.StatusServiceUnavailable)
 }
diff --git a/beacon-chain/rpc/eth/node/handlers_test.go b/beacon-chain/rpc/eth/node/handlers_test.go
index ce53b8d5ecd4..4b5d9bf9f396 100644
--- a/beacon-chain/rpc/eth/node/handlers_test.go
+++ b/beacon-chain/rpc/eth/node/handlers_test.go
@@ -91,8 +91,10 @@ func TestGetVersion(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestGetHealth(t *testing.T) {
 	checker := &syncmock.Sync{}
+	optimisticFetcher := &mock.ChainService{Optimistic: false}
 	s := &Server{
-		SyncChecker: checker,
+		SyncChecker:           checker,
+		OptimisticModeFetcher: optimisticFetcher,
 	}
 
 	request := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "http://example.com/eth/v1/node/health", nil)
@@ -101,25 +103,30 @@ func TestGetHealth(t *testing.T) {
 	s.GetHealth(writer, request)
 	assert.Equal(t, http.StatusServiceUnavailable, writer.Code)
 
-	checker.IsInitialized = true
-	request = httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "http://example.com/eth/v1/node/health", nil)
+	checker.IsSyncing = true
+	checker.IsSynced = false
+	request = httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, fmt.Sprintf("http://example.com/eth/v1/node/health?syncing_status=%d", http.StatusPaymentRequired), nil)
 	writer = httptest.NewRecorder()
 	writer.Body = &bytes.Buffer{}
 	s.GetHealth(writer, request)
-	assert.Equal(t, http.StatusPartialContent, writer.Code)
+	assert.Equal(t, http.StatusPaymentRequired, writer.Code)
 
-	request = httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, fmt.Sprintf("http://example.com/eth/v1/node/health?syncing_status=%d", http.StatusPaymentRequired), nil)
+	checker.IsSyncing = false
+	checker.IsSynced = true
+	request = httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "http://example.com/eth/v1/node/health", nil)
 	writer = httptest.NewRecorder()
 	writer.Body = &bytes.Buffer{}
 	s.GetHealth(writer, request)
-	assert.Equal(t, http.StatusPaymentRequired, writer.Code)
+	assert.Equal(t, http.StatusOK, writer.Code)
 
+	checker.IsSyncing = false
 	checker.IsSynced = true
+	optimisticFetcher.Optimistic = true
 	request = httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "http://example.com/eth/v1/node/health", nil)
 	writer = httptest.NewRecorder()
 	writer.Body = &bytes.Buffer{}
 	s.GetHealth(writer, request)
-	assert.Equal(t, http.StatusOK, writer.Code)
+	assert.Equal(t, http.StatusPartialContent, writer.Code)
 }
 
 func TestGetIdentity(t *testing.T) {