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.
Heart transplant prolongs the life of people who would otherwise die. About 80% of heart transplant patients are alive 2 years after the operation. At 5 years, 70% of patients will still be alive after a heart transplant. The main problem, as with other transplants, is rejection. If rejection can be controlled, survival increases to over 10 years.