diff --git a/src/kvcr/local_dram.py b/src/kvcr/local_dram.py
index e6ba87e..3c120dd 100644
--- a/src/kvcr/local_dram.py
+++ b/src/kvcr/local_dram.py
@@ -1032,8 +1032,9 @@ def short() -> set[str]:
                 if len(self._free_slots[name]) + freed[name] < count
             }
 
+        deficient = short()
         with closing(self._evictable.candidates(protected)) as candidates:
-            while deficient := short():
+            while deficient:
                 key = next(candidates, None)
                 if key is None:
                     return None, [], False
@@ -1054,7 +1055,8 @@ def short() -> set[str]:
                     CacheTier.LOCAL_G2,
                     deadline,
                 )
-                if not short():
+                deficient = short()
+                if not deficient:
                     break
                 if eviction_pending:
                     self._capacity_eviction_key = key
@@ -1063,6 +1065,7 @@ def short() -> set[str]:
                     continue
                 victims.append((key, record, residency, size_bytes))
                 freed.update(name for name, _ in residency.slots)
+                deficient = short()
 
         for key, record, residency, size_bytes in victims:
             self._remove_evictable(key, residency)
diff --git a/src/kvcr/policy_runtime.py b/src/kvcr/policy_runtime.py
index 5cf70f6..8fe9c5c 100644
--- a/src/kvcr/policy_runtime.py
+++ b/src/kvcr/policy_runtime.py
@@ -151,9 +151,6 @@ class _Entry:
 
 
 class _EvictionQueue:
-    # TODO: Bound stale heap growth from DRAM/G3 claim/release cycles.
-    # Removal only invalidates _live; candidates() removes stale heap entries as
-    # it encounters them, so repeated cache use can grow _heap without eviction.
     def __init__(self) -> None:
         self._heap: list[tuple[float, int, BlockKey]] = []
         self._live: dict[BlockKey, _Entry] = {}
@@ -167,6 +164,18 @@ def insert(self, key: BlockKey, score: float) -> None:
         self._next_sequence += 1
         self._live[key] = entry
         heapq.heappush(self._heap, (entry.score, entry.sequence, key))
+        if len(self._heap) > 2 * len(self._live):
+            # Accumulated stale entries amortize this O(n) pass. Reusing tuples
+            # limits overhead, but this insert still pays the synchronous cost.
+            # If profiling shows significant pauses, use incremental compaction.
+            # Compact queued entries only; candidates() restores those it holds.
+            self._heap = [
+                item
+                for item in self._heap
+                if (current := self._live.get(item[2])) is not None
+                and current.sequence == item[1]
+            ]
+            heapq.heapify(self._heap)
 
     def remove(self, key: BlockKey) -> bool:
         return self._live.pop(key, None) is not None
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_kvcr_local_dram.py b/tests/unit/test_kvcr_local_dram.py
index 423920b..d9b6abe 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_kvcr_local_dram.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_kvcr_local_dram.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 import ctypes
 import heapq
 import logging
+from contextlib import closing
 from unittest.mock import Mock
 
 import pytest
@@ -25,6 +26,7 @@
 from kvcr.core import _BlockRecord
 from kvcr.local_dram import _LocalDramResidency, _LocalDramState
 from kvcr.policy import FIFOPolicy, LRUPolicy
+from kvcr.policy_runtime import _EvictionQueue
 from kvcr.recovery_journal import (
     RecoveryMirrorError,
     install_recovery_records,
@@ -286,6 +288,27 @@ def test_group_allocation_evicts_enough_whole_keys(monkeypatch) -> None:
     ]
 
 
+def test_eviction_heap_compaction_preserves_active_candidates() -> None:
+    queue = _EvictionQueue()
+    first, churned, excluded = (
+        BlockKey(name) for name in (b"first", b"churned", b"excluded")
+    )
+    queue.insert(first, 0)
+    queue.insert(churned, 1)
+    queue.insert(excluded, 1)
+
+    with closing(queue.candidates({excluded})) as candidates:
+        assert next(candidates) == first
+        for _ in range(100):
+            queue.remove(churned)
+            queue.insert(churned, 1)
+        assert len(queue._heap) <= 2 * len(queue)
+        assert list(candidates) == [churned]
+
+    assert len(queue._heap) == 3
+    assert list(queue.candidates(set())) == [first, excluded, churned]
+
+
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
     ("policy", "evicted_index"),
     [(FIFOPolicy(), 1), (LRUPolicy(), 0), (None, 0)],