Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended			6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2014	Dec. 31, 2014
Goodwill [Line Items]
Intangible asset impairment charges	$ 9	$ 110		$ 9	$ 165
Research and Development in Process			$ 6
Asset Impairment Charges		55
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Gross	9,945			9,945		$ 9,800
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Accumulated Amortization	(4,795)			(4,795)		(4,572)
Indefinite-lived intangible assets, including goodwill	16,027			16,027		15,995
Indefinite-lived intangible assets, accumulated write-offs	(9,900)			(9,900)		(9,900)
Goodwill	5,930			5,930		5,898
Goodwill, Purchase Accounting Adjustments				2
Goodwill, Acquired During Period				30
Goodwill, Impaired, Accumulated Impairment Loss	$ (9,900)			(9,900)		(9,900)
Goodwill (Textuals) [Abstract]
Goodwill impairment charge				0
Core technology		8	$ 64
Intangible assets reclassified from unamortizable to amortizable				$ 76
Electrophysiology [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Hypothetical change in WACC				0.50%
Goodwill (Textuals) [Abstract]
Hypothetical change in revenue growth rates				1.50%
Global CRM Reporting Unit [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Reporting Unit, Percentage of Fair Value in Excess of Carrying Amount	26.00%			26.00%
Cardiovascular [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill	$ 3,426			$ 3,426		3,426
Goodwill, Purchase Accounting Adjustments				0
Goodwill, Acquired During Period				0
Goodwill, Impaired, Accumulated Impairment Loss	(1,479)			(1,479)		(1,479)
Goodwill (Textuals) [Abstract]
Goodwill impairment charge				0
Rhythm Management [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill	292			292		290
Goodwill, Purchase Accounting Adjustments				2
Goodwill, Acquired During Period				0
Goodwill, Impaired, Accumulated Impairment Loss	(6,960)			(6,960)		(6,960)
Goodwill (Textuals) [Abstract]
Goodwill impairment charge				0
MedSurg [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill	2,212			2,212		2,182
Goodwill, Purchase Accounting Adjustments				0
Goodwill, Acquired During Period				30
Goodwill, Impaired, Accumulated Impairment Loss	$ (1,461)			(1,461)		(1,461)
Goodwill (Textuals) [Abstract]
Goodwill impairment charge				$ 0
Global Electrophysiology (EP) Reporting Unit [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Reporting Unit, Percentage of Fair Value in Excess of Carrying Amount	28.00%			28.00%
Allocated Goodwill				$ 292
Unclassified Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill, Gross	$ 15,830			15,830		15,798
Goodwill, Impaired, Accumulated Impairment Loss	(9,900)			(9,900)		(9,900)
Technology-related [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets (Excluding Goodwill)	197			197		197
In-process research and development [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets (Excluding Goodwill)	95			95		181
Technology-related [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Gross	8,546			8,546		8,406
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Accumulated Amortization	(3,883)			(3,883)		(3,697)
Patents [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Gross	521			521		519
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Accumulated Amortization	(351)			(351)		(342)
Other Intangible Assets [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Gross	878			878		875
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Accumulated Amortization	(561)			$ (561)		$ (533)
In Process Research and Development 2 [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Research and Development in Process	$ 6	$ 83
In Process Research and Development [Member]
Goodwill (Textuals) [Abstract]
Fair Value Inputs, Discount Rate			20.00%
Core technology [Member]
Goodwill (Textuals) [Abstract]
Fair Value Inputs, Discount Rate		15.00%	15.00%
Vessix Charges [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Asset Impairment Charges		$ 67
Atritech Charges [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Asset Impairment Charges		35
Other In-process Research and Development Project Charges [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Asset Impairment Charges		$ 8
Minimum [Member] | In Process Research and Development [Member]
Goodwill (Textuals) [Abstract]
Fair Value Inputs, Discount Rate	16.50%	16.50%
Maximum [Member] | In Process Research and Development [Member]
Goodwill (Textuals) [Abstract]
Fair Value Inputs, Discount Rate	20.00%	20.00%