Condensed Consolidated Statements Of Earnings - USD ($) shares in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Apr. 02, 2016	Apr. 04, 2015
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 1,448	$ 1,345
Cost of sales:
Cost of sales before special charges	484	393
Special charges	3	2
Total cost of sales	487	395
Gross profit	961	950
Selling, general and administrative expense	491	430
Research and development expense	188	167
Amortization of intangible assets	46	24
Special charges	8	4
Operating profit	228	325
Interest income	(1)	(1)
Interest expense	40	21
Other (income) expense	53	(3)
Other expense, net	92	17
Earnings before income taxes and noncontrolling interest	136	308
Income tax expense	41	52
Net earnings before noncontrolling interest	95	256
Less: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest	0	(6)
Net earnings attributable to St. Jude Medical, Inc.	$ 95	$ 262
Net earnings per share attributable to St. Jude Medical, Inc.:
Basic (USD per share)	$ 0.33	$ 0.93
Diluted (USD per share)	0.33	0.91
Cash dividends declared per share (USD per share)	$ 0.31	$ 0.29
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	283.5	283.0
Diluted (in shares)	286.4	287.1