John Travolta auditioned for the role of Edward, which eventually went to Richard Gere, and the movie went on to be international success. In 1979, Travolta turned down the lead to star in American Gigolo, which then went to Richard Gere, and also became a hit.
While the overall statistics are not encouraging, long-term survival and quality of life after diagnosis vary greatly with the individual circumstances. The statistics show that only 20 to 30 percent of congestive heart failure (CHF) patients live longer than 10 to 12 years after diagnosis.
Dr__Taylor: This depends on the severity of the heart failure at the time of diagnosis. Heart failure severe enough to cause hospitalization usually leads to an average survival of 4 - 5 years. However - the average survival of patients with mild heart failure while less than normal can easily be beyond 10 years. Patients who respond favorably to medical therapy can achieve almost normal life expectancy.