Condensed Consolidated Statements Of Earnings (USD $) In Millions, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Apr. 04, 2015	Mar. 29, 2014
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 1,345	$ 1,363
Cost of sales:
Cost of sales before special charges	393	382
Special charges	2	1
Total cost of sales	395	383
Gross profit	950	980
Selling, general and administrative expense	430	444
Research and development expense	167	170
Amortization of intangible assets	24	21
Special charges	4	33
Operating profit	325	312
Interest income	(1)	(1)
Interest expense	21	21
Other (income) expense	(3)	0
Other expense, net	17	20
Earnings before income taxes and noncontrolling interest	308	292
Income tax expense	52	53
Net earnings before noncontrolling interest	256	239
Less: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest	(6)	(10)
Net earnings attributable to St. Jude Medical, Inc.	$ 262	$ 249
Net earnings per share attributable to St. Jude Medical, Inc.:
Basic	$ 0.93	$ 0.88
Diluted	$ 0.91	$ 0.86
Cash dividends declared per share:	$ 0.29	$ 0.27
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic	283.0	284.4
Diluted	287.1	289.3