The aims of the present study are twofold: 1) to investigate whether HRR after a cycle ergometry test is affected by exercise training 2) to test the ability of HRR to replicate the BRS changes occurring in response to an exercise training program in coronary artery patients. We randomized 82 coronary artery patients undergoing a residential Cardiac Rehabilitation Program to an exercise training group (TR, n=43) and an untrained (UTR, n=39) group. All the patients underwent an exercise test before and after the rehabilitation program. HRR was recorded at the end of the first (HRR1) and second minute (HRR2) after exercise. BRS was determined at rest before and after treatment. HRR2 was significantly improved in TR (-21.4 ± 0.9 b/min) as compared to UTR (-17.8 ± 1.2 b/min) patients at the end of the training program. Improvement in HRR paralleled that in BRS (from 3.2 ±0.3 to 5.3 ± 0.8 msec/mmHg in TR, p < 0.001) in TR whereas no significant change was evident in UTR patients (from 3.5 ± 0 to 4.0 ±0.4 msec/mmHg, p = 0.230). Our data show that HRR in the 2nd minute after the cessation of a cycle ergometer exercise test increased in coronary artery patients after an exercise training period. This result confirms the positive effect induced by exercise training on HRR and extends the conclusions of previous studies to different modalities of exercise (i.e., cycle ergometer). HRR might provide an additional simple marker of the effectiveness of physical training programs in cardiac patients.