When I had shingles a few years ago, followed by agonising post-herpetic neuralgia, the doc suggested rubbing my back with chilli paste as the capsicum would kill the pain. Husband fell about laughing. I had Amitriptyline instead, which did the trick in a couple of weeks.

His dad died of heart failure, and had eaten fiery, spicy food all his long life. But then, diagnosis is poor in W Africa, so he may well have had some other illness, not heart trouble at all.