Certain Litigation Charges, Net (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended		0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended
	Oct. 28, 2011	Oct. 29, 2010	Oct. 28, 2011	Oct. 29, 2010	Oct. 14, 2010 Sprint Fidelis [Member]	Oct. 29, 2010 Sprint Fidelis [Member]	Oct. 28, 2011 Sprint Fidelis [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Certain litigation charges, net	$ 0	$ 279	$ 0	$ 279		$ 279
Loss Contingency, Settlement Agreement, Terms					The Company announced on October 14, 2010 that it had entered into an agreement to settle the pending lawsuits as well as certain unfiled claims subject to opt-out rights by both plaintiffs and the Company, including the Company’s right to cancel the agreement. The parties subsequently reached an adjusted settlement agreement pursuant to which Medtronic waived its right to cancel the agreement and agreed to pay a total of $221 million to resolve over 14,000 filed and unfiled claims.		The parties subsequently reached an adjusted settlement agreement to pay a total of $221 million to resolve over 14,000 filed and unfiled claims. See Note 19 for additional information.