Skip A Beat Meaning

Example : 1997, David J. Pelzer, The lost boy: a foster child's search for the love of a family:  My heart seemed to skip a beat when I parked my car at the old Safeway supermarket. My eyes gaped at the same aisles I had strolled through as a child.1989, Lois Lowry, Number the stars:  Her heart seemed to skip a beat. "Halte!" the soldier ordered in a stern voice.2001, Linda Bremner, love in the mail:  What set it apart and caused my heart to skip a beat were the words printed where the artist's signature usually goes, […]2005, Amitav Ghosh, The hungry tide:  THE MEGHA HAD BEEN on the water for some three hours when Piya heard the engine skip a beat.2008, Alan Howard Levy, Floyd Patterson: a boxer and a gentleman:  Indeed, he did not skip a beat, stayed right with his training regimen, and flew out to Seattle on August 8.