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Introduction: heart failure (HF) is a strong contributor to non-communicable diseases burden in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Few studies have addressed the pattern of HF in Burkina Faso. Methods: we conducted a prospective cohort study in patients with acute HF in the Regional Hospital Center of Tenkodogo, eastern region of Burkina Faso. Patients were consecutively enrolled from 1st January 2015 to 31st December 2016 and followed up until June 2017. Primary outcome of interest was mortality. Results: overall 318 of 1805 cardiac cases presented with acute HF (17.62 %). Of the 298 patients included in the analysis process, 239 had de novo HF and 150 were male. The mean age was 58.56 ± 18.54 years. Eighty-eight patients presented with atrial fibrillation. The mean left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was 38.20 ± 12.85 % with reduced ejection fraction (LVEF < 40%) accounting for 59.73% of the cases. Most of the study patients lived in rural areas. Hypertensive heart disease (50.34%) and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (19.80%) were the leading causes of HF. Most patients received renin-angiotensin system blockers contrasting with a lower prescription rate of beta-blockers (99% versus 18.79% respectively). The incidence of all-cause mortality was 31 percent patients-years. Conclusion: heart failure is frequent in SSA, affecting patients at younger age. Predominantly of non-ischemic cause, commonly hypertensive, the disease is associated with high mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]