Document and Entity Information (USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015	May 01, 2015	Jun. 30, 2014
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	HEALTH CARE REIT INC /DE/
Entity Central Index Key	0000766704
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End date	Mar. 31, 2015
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well Known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Public Float			$ 19,277,423,332
Entity Common Stock Shares Outstanding		350,626,627