Stroke Survivor Finds Advanced Heart Care Close to Home

At 81 years old, Visalia resident Jack Lowery has lived a life full of challenges — and victories. A retired race-car driver and four-time cancer survivor, Lowery thought he had seen just about everything. But one spring morning, an unexpected medical emergency would test his resilience once again.

That morning, sheriff’s deputies noticed Lowery’s truck racing through an intersection at more than 90 miles per hour, running on three tires. What appeared to be a high-speed pursuit was actually a medical crisis unfolding. Lowery had lost consciousness behind the wheel while experiencing a stroke.

He was brought home safely by a family member.

“When I woke up on my couch, I thought I had died,” Lowery recalls. “I walked to the door and saw my neighbor’s porch light. That’s when I realized I was alive, but something was very wrong.”

Lowery began recovering from the stroke. But in the months that followed, another troubling issue emerged. He began fainting repeatedly — more than a dozen times in just a few months. Concerned and determined to find answers, Lowery turned to Adventist Health Tulare for specialized care.

There, cardiologist Sukhvinder Bhajal, MD, identified a potential problem with Lowery’s implanted heart monitor. To get clearer insight into his heart rhythms, Dr. Bhajal recommended replacing the device with a newer, more advanced monitor.

In September 2025, Dr. Bhajal performed a minimally invasive procedure in the hospital’s newly expanded cardiac catheterization lab. The procedure replaced Lowery’s monitor with an updated device designed to provide more precise heart rhythm tracking and determine whether a pacemaker might be needed in the future.

For Lowery, the experience reaffirmed the importance of having expert care close to home.

“Dr. Bhajal is aces,” Lowery says with a grin beneath his cowboy hat. “He listens. He cares. And he got me back to living my life.”

Lowery’s procedure was made possible by recent investments in cardiac care at Adventist Health Tulare. The hospital recently expanded its cardiac catheterization (cath) lab to bring faster diagnoses and advanced heart treatments to the community.

Similar expansions are underway at Adventist Health Hanford, where plans call for five state-of-the-art cath labs to serve patients throughout the region.

For patients like Lowery, these advancements mean access to lifesaving technology and specialized care without traveling far from home.

Just weeks after the procedure, Lowery was back to enjoying one of his favorite pastimes — fishing.

“Every day is a gift,” he says. “Now I’m just enjoying the ride.”