to beta receptors, thereby widening blood vessels, which reduces heart rate and blood pressure . Until recently, the European Society of Cardiology recommended the use of beta-blockers in patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery. Earlier this year, however, researchers calculated that this guideline, which they found to be based on “dubious and probably fraudulent research,” may have caused as many as 800,000 deaths in just five years in Europe. 11
The guidelines for beta-blockers were largely based on research conducted by a scientist who was dismissed for scientific misconduct in 2011, and
