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.
I've been told by my transplant doctor that the average life expectancy after a heart transplant is 13 years, some people as long as 20 years, some less. As I am 53 years old, he suggested that I might like to wait as long as possible to provide an overall longer life.