diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/backend/llvm/blocks.ts b/packages/compiler/src/backend/llvm/blocks.ts
index 01295c549..49c9be2fe 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/backend/llvm/blocks.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/backend/llvm/blocks.ts
@@ -20,6 +20,12 @@ export class BlockBuilder {
   private tempCounter = 0;
   private labelCounter = 0;
   debugLocation: string | null = null;
+  /** The body is a synchronous IR function: the active exception cell is one
+   * value from entry to every pending check. Other builders (adapters,
+   * runtime helpers) keep loading it at each check. */
+  excCellInvariant = false;
+  /** The entry-block load of the active exception cell, once requested. */
+  excCell: string | null = null;
   /** Function epilogue shared by normal and exceptional returns. */
   returnEpilogue: string | null = null;
   /** Temps known to hold immortal values (temp names are only unique
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/backend/llvm/emitter.test.ts b/packages/compiler/src/backend/llvm/emitter.test.ts
index cd364f414..614d88fac 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/backend/llvm/emitter.test.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/backend/llvm/emitter.test.ts
@@ -532,3 +532,22 @@ test("literal zero division emits the JavaScript NaN constant in development bui
   );
   expect(dynamic).toContain("fdiv double");
 });
+
+test("synchronous bodies load the active exception cell once for all pending checks", () => {
+  const body = (llvm: string, name: string): string => {
+    const start = llvm.indexOf(`@${name}(`);
+    return llvm.slice(start, llvm.indexOf("\n}\n", start));
+  };
+  const module = moduleFor([call(), call(), call()]);
+  const work = body(emitLlvmModule(module), "sc_f_work");
+  expect(work.match(/= load ptr, ptr @scr_exc_active/g)).toHaveLength(1);
+  expect(work.slice(work.indexOf("entry:")).split("\n").slice(1).join("\n")).toMatch(
+    /^(?:  %[^\n]* = alloca [^\n]*\n)*  %exc\.cell = load ptr, ptr @scr_exc_active/,
+  );
+  expect(work.match(/= load i32, ptr %exc\.cell\b/g)).toHaveLength(3);
+  // Worker executables fold the context signal into each check and keep
+  // loading their thread-local cell there.
+  const workers = body(emitLlvmModule({ ...module, workers: true }), "sc_f_work");
+  expect(workers).not.toContain("%exc.cell");
+  expect(workers.match(/= load ptr, ptr @scr_exc_active/g)).toHaveLength(3);
+});
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/backend/llvm/emitter.ts b/packages/compiler/src/backend/llvm/emitter.ts
index 8565a38bb..224df49b0 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/backend/llvm/emitter.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/backend/llvm/emitter.ts
@@ -3800,9 +3800,21 @@ export class LlEmitter {
     const tl = this.mod.workers === true ? "thread_local " : "";
     this.declare(`@scr_exc_active = external ${tl}global ptr`);
     this.declare(`declare i1 @llvm.expect.i1(i1, i1)`);
-    const cell = B.tmp();
+    let cell: string;
+    if (B.excCellInvariant && this.mod.workers !== true) {
+      // Fiber switches restore the active cell before control returns to a
+      // synchronous frame, so its pointer is one value for the whole call:
+      // load it once in the entry block and test only the kind here.
+      if (B.excCell === null) {
+        B.excCell = "%exc.cell";
+        B.entryAllocas.push(`${B.excCell} = load ptr, ptr @scr_exc_active`);
+      }
+      cell = B.excCell;
+    } else {
+      cell = B.tmp();
+      B.line(`${cell} = load ptr, ptr @scr_exc_active`);
+    }
     const kind = B.tmp();
-    B.line(`${cell} = load ptr, ptr @scr_exc_active`);
     B.line(`${kind} = load i32, ptr ${cell}`);
     let word = kind;
     if (this.mod.workers === true) {
@@ -4770,6 +4782,9 @@ export class LlEmitter {
   private emitFunction(fn: IrFunction): string {
     const B = new BlockBuilder();
     this.B = B;
+    // Fiber switches restore the active exception cell before control
+    // returns to a synchronous frame (emitPendingCheck).
+    B.excCellInvariant = fn.async !== true && fn.generator === undefined;
     this.debugScope = this.debug?.function(fn) ?? null;
     B.debugLocation = this.debug?.location(fn.loc, this.debugScope) ?? null;
     this.frames = [];
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/backend/llvm/local-array-reads.test.ts b/packages/compiler/src/backend/llvm/local-array-reads.test.ts
index 67a37ce56..31b2717b3 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/backend/llvm/local-array-reads.test.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/backend/llvm/local-array-reads.test.ts
@@ -24,7 +24,8 @@ import {
 import { analyzeCallLifetimes } from "./call-lifetimes.js";
 
 /** A pending-exception check: the inline active-cell test or a runtime call. */
-const PENDING_CHECK = /@scr_exc_(?:active|pending)\b/;
+// Synchronous bodies test the kind of the entry-loaded exception cell.
+const PENDING_CHECK = /@scr_exc_(?:active|pending)\b| = load i32, ptr %exc\.cell\b/;
 
 const loc = { file: "local-array.ts", start: 0, end: 0 };
 const element: IrType = { kind: "record", shapeId: "cell" };
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/backend/llvm/string-lifetimes.test.ts b/packages/compiler/src/backend/llvm/string-lifetimes.test.ts
index bf54116ee..6713d5b90 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/backend/llvm/string-lifetimes.test.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/backend/llvm/string-lifetimes.test.ts
@@ -18,7 +18,8 @@ import { emitLlvmModule } from "./emitter.js";
 import { borrowsStringInputs } from "./string-lifetimes.js";
 
 /** A pending-exception check: the inline active-cell test or a runtime call. */
-const PENDING_CHECK = /@scr_exc_(?:active|pending)\b/;
+// Synchronous bodies test the kind of the entry-loaded exception cell.
+const PENDING_CHECK = /@scr_exc_(?:active|pending)\b| = load i32, ptr %exc\.cell\b/;
 
 const loc = { file: "strings.ts", start: 0, end: 1 };
 const ref = (id: string, type: IrType = STRING): IrExpr => ({
diff --git a/packages/compiler/test/string-and-array-lifetimes.test.ts b/packages/compiler/test/string-and-array-lifetimes.test.ts
index 10e496a8d..4f59d8bbc 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/test/string-and-array-lifetimes.test.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/test/string-and-array-lifetimes.test.ts
@@ -8,7 +8,8 @@ import { emitLlvmModule } from "../src/backend/llvm/emitter.js";
 import { type IrModule } from "../src/ir/ir.js";
 
 /** A pending-exception check: the inline active-cell test or a runtime call. */
-const PENDING_CHECK = /@scr_exc_(?:active|pending)\b/;
+// Synchronous bodies test the kind of the entry-loaded exception cell.
+const PENDING_CHECK = /@scr_exc_(?:active|pending)\b| = load i32, ptr %exc\.cell\b/;
 
 async function lower(source: string): Promise<IrModule> {
   const dir = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), "scriptc-input-lifetimes-"));