Condensed Consolidated Statements Of Earnings (USD $) In Millions, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 28, 2013	Sep. 29, 2012	Sep. 28, 2013	Sep. 29, 2012
Net sales	$ 1,338	$ 1,326	$ 4,079	$ 4,131
Cost of sales:
Cost of sales before special charges	383	348	1,123	1,073
Special charges	2	7	21	46
Total cost of sales	385	355	1,144	1,119
Gross Profit	953	971	2,935	3,012
Selling, general and administrative expense	452	456	1,409	1,440
Research and development expense	172	170	505	518
Special charges	16	110	118	179
Operating profit	313	235	903	875
Other expense, net	17	19	248	67
Earnings before noncontrolling interest and income taxes	296	216	655	808
Income tax expense (benefit)	44	40	74	176
Net earnings before noncontrolling interest	252	176	581	632
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest	(10)	0	(19)	0
Net earnings attributable to St. Jude Medical, Inc.	$ 262	$ 176	$ 600	$ 632
Net earnings per share attributable to St. Jude Medical, Inc.:
Basic	$ 0.91	$ 0.56	$ 2.10	$ 2.01
Diluted	$ 0.90	$ 0.56	$ 2.08	$ 2.00
Cash dividends declared per share:	$ 0.25	$ 0.23	$ 0.75	$ 0.69
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic	287.5	314.7	285.6	314.8
Diluted	292.0	316.3	288.7	316.4