Re: when a person's heart and breathing have stopped and are restarted ...

You are right. Resuscitation generally occurs after a cardio circulatory 
arrest occured, i.e. heart stopped and breathing consequently stopped too. 
Main reasons are myocardial infarction among people over 45 years (this is 
not an "absolute" limit), asphyxia (near drowning, inhalation of a foreign 
body, acute asthma, overdose, etc...), massive hemorrhage.
When you begin resuscitation manoeuvers, you follow the "ABC" rule:

Airway: is airway free of foreign bodies? Gently flip the head backward, 
with great attention to the head neck line, do not twist the neck

Breathing: is breathing present? In some cases, the "A" action is enough to 
restore a good breathing (this is not true in case of cardiac arrest). If 
not sufficent, inflate twice the patient's lungs by mouth to mouth, after 
inserting a handkerchief or something similar to protect yourself against 
cross contamination. Use an airway device as soon as available.

Circulation: check the pulse (carotid or femoral artery). If present, 
closely monitor. If absent, give a precordial (the anterior part of the 
chest) thump. If it does not work, begin chest compressions.

When the patient regains circulation and breathing, he will in most cases 
gently wake up. The more frequent situation is a patient who has been 
intubated, i.e. has a tube inserted in his trachea by rescuers. In such a 
situation, when he wakes up, he will cough. Same thing when you wake up 
from anesthesia.

Making a patient cough is a fair realistic picture of reality, but a very 
dramatic way to enhance the drama of the movie....

Hope this helps

Luc

Luc Ronchi
Ped Anesth
Hopital de St Nazaire, France
(not nominated for the Oscars !)