Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) reportablesegments	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill	$ 6,998,000,000	$ 6,678,000,000	$ 6,473,000,000
Goodwill, Translation and Purchase Accounting Adjustments	12,000,000	(3,000,000)
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Gross	11,536,000,000	11,235,000,000
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Accumulated Amortization	(6,097,000,000)	(5,564,000,000)
Goodwill, Impaired, Accumulated Impairment Loss	(9,900,000,000)	(9,900,000,000)
Goodwill (Textuals) [Abstract]
Intangible Assets, Net (Excluding Goodwill)	5,837,000,000	5,883,000,000	6,194,000,000
Goodwill, Acquired During Period	308,000,000	208,000,000
Other Intangible Assets (Textuals) [Abstract]
Other intangible asset charges	4,000,000	11,000,000	19,000,000
Goodwill, Gross	16,898,000,000	16,578,000,000
Indefinite-lived intangible assets, accumulated write-offs	(9,900,000,000)	(9,900,000,000)
Indefinite-lived intangible assets, including goodwill	17,295,000,000	16,790,000,000
Future Amortization Expense, Year One	551,000,000
Future Amortization Expense, Year Two	546,000,000
Future Amortization Expense, Year Three	543,000,000
Future Amortization Expense, Year Four	507,000,000
Future Amortization Expense, Year Five	$ 477,000,000
Number of Reportable Segments | reportablesegments	3
Cardiovascular [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill	$ 3,704,000,000	3,513,000,000	3,451,000,000
Goodwill, Translation and Purchase Accounting Adjustments	9,000,000	0
Goodwill (Textuals) [Abstract]
Goodwill, Acquired During Period	182,000,000	62,000,000
Rhythm Management [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill	417,000,000	290,000,000	292,000,000
Goodwill, Translation and Purchase Accounting Adjustments	1,000,000	(2,000,000)
Goodwill (Textuals) [Abstract]
Goodwill, Acquired During Period	126,000,000	0
MedSurg [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill	2,877,000,000	2,875,000,000	$ 2,730,000,000
Goodwill, Translation and Purchase Accounting Adjustments	2,000,000	(1,000,000)
Goodwill (Textuals) [Abstract]
Goodwill, Acquired During Period	0	146,000,000
Technology-related [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Gross	9,386,000,000	9,123,000,000
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Accumulated Amortization	(4,880,000,000)	(4,468,000,000)
Patents [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Gross	517,000,000	529,000,000
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Accumulated Amortization	(379,000,000)	(374,000,000)
Other Intangible Assets [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Gross	1,633,000,000	1,583,000,000
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Accumulated Amortization	(838,000,000)	(722,000,000)
Technology-related [Member]
Other Intangible Assets (Textuals) [Abstract]
Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets (Excluding Goodwill)	120,000,000	120,000,000
Indefinite-lived intangible assets, accumulated write-offs	0	0
Purchased research and development [Member]
Other Intangible Assets (Textuals) [Abstract]
Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets (Excluding Goodwill)	$ 278,000,000	$ 92,000,000