Methods for predicting patient deterioration or clinical events by detecting patterns in heterogeneous temporal clinical data streams that are predictive of certain clinical end points and matching the patient state with those patterns are described. The detected patterns, referred to as SuperAlarm triggers, are a predictive combination of frequently co-occurring monitor alarms, conditions and laboratory test results that can predict patient deterioration for imminent life-threatening events. SuperAlarm triggers may also exhibit patterns in the sequence of SuperAlarms that are triggered over the monitoring time of a patient. Sequential patterns of SuperAlarm triggers may also indicate a temporal process of change in patient status. SuperAlarm based alerts will also greatly reduce the number of false alarms and alarm fatigue compared to conventional alarms.