Guarantor Financial Information - Condensed Consolidating Balance Sheet (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Jan. 29, 2016	Apr. 24, 2015	Jan. 23, 2015	Apr. 25, 2014
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 2,721	$ 4,843	$ 17,231	$ 1,403
Investments	14,565	14,637
Accounts receivable, net	4,863	5,112
Inventories	3,536	3,463
Intercompany receivable	0	0
Tax assets	502	1,335
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	1,382	1,454
Total current assets	27,569	30,844
Property, plant, and equipment, net	4,636	4,699
Goodwill	40,376	40,530
Other intangible assets, net	27,316	28,101
Long-term tax assets	1,060	774
Investment in subsidiaries	0	0
Intercompany loans receivable	0	0
Other assets	1,749	1,737
Total assets	102,706	106,685
Current liabilities:
Short-term borrowings	2,153	2,434
Accounts payable	1,437	1,610
Intercompany payable	0	0
Accrued compensation	1,481	1,611
Accrued income taxes	454	935
Deferred tax liabilities	0	119
Other accrued expenses	2,616	2,464
Total current liabilities	8,141	9,173
Long-term debt	33,681	33,752
Long-term accrued compensation and retirement benefits	1,585	1,535
Long-term accrued income taxes	2,822	2,476
Long-term intercompany loans payable	0	0
Long-term deferred tax liabilities	3,802	4,700
Other long-term liabilities	1,859	1,819
Total liabilities	51,890	53,455
Shareholders’ equity	50,816	53,230
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	102,706	106,685
Consolidating Adjustments [Member] | Medtronic Notes [Member]
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0	0	0
Investments	0	0
Accounts receivable, net	0	0
Inventories	(221)	(199)
Intercompany receivable	(327,563)	(291,839)
Tax assets	0	0
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	0	0
Total current assets	(327,784)	(292,038)
Property, plant, and equipment, net	0	0
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets, net	0	0
Long-term tax assets	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries	(173,251)	(175,547)
Intercompany loans receivable	(33,793)	(29,734)
Other assets	0	0
Total assets	(534,828)	(497,319)
Current liabilities:
Short-term borrowings	0	0
Accounts payable	0	0
Intercompany payable	(327,563)	(291,839)
Accrued compensation	0	0
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other accrued expenses	0	0
Total current liabilities	(327,563)	(291,839)
Long-term debt	0	0
Long-term accrued compensation and retirement benefits	0	0
Long-term accrued income taxes	0	0
Long-term intercompany loans payable	(33,793)	(29,734)
Long-term deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other long-term liabilities	0	0
Total liabilities	(361,356)	(321,573)
Shareholders’ equity	(173,472)	(175,746)
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	(534,828)	(497,319)
Consolidating Adjustments [Member] | CIFSA Notes [Member]
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0
Investments	0	0
Accounts receivable, net	0	0
Inventories	0	0
Intercompany receivable	(20,813)	(21,035)
Tax assets	0	0
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	0	0
Total current assets	(20,813)	(21,035)
Property, plant, and equipment, net	0	0
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets, net	0	0
Long-term tax assets	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries	(168,348)	(152,838)
Intercompany loans receivable	(35,099)	(38,786)
Other assets	0	0
Total assets	(224,260)	(212,659)
Current liabilities:
Short-term borrowings	0	0
Accounts payable	0	0
Intercompany payable	(20,813)	(21,035)
Accrued compensation	0	0
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other accrued expenses	0	0
Total current liabilities	(20,813)	(21,035)
Long-term debt	0	0
Long-term accrued compensation and retirement benefits	0	0
Long-term accrued income taxes	0	0
Long-term intercompany loans payable	(35,099)	(38,786)
Long-term deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other long-term liabilities	0	0
Total liabilities	(55,912)	(59,821)
Shareholders’ equity	(168,348)	(152,838)
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	(224,260)	(212,659)
Parent Company Guarantor (Medtronic plc) [Member] | Medtronic Notes [Member]
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	0	263	0	0
Investments	0	0
Accounts receivable, net	0	0
Inventories	0	0
Intercompany receivable	249	259
Tax assets	0	0
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	4	4
Total current assets	253	526
Property, plant, and equipment, net	0	0
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets, net	0	0
Long-term tax assets	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries	71,188	70,233
Intercompany loans receivable	3,000	3,000
Other assets	0	0
Total assets	74,441	73,759
Current liabilities:
Short-term borrowings	0	0
Accounts payable	0	0
Intercompany payable	20,490	20,506
Accrued compensation	6	1
Accrued income taxes	8	19
Deferred tax liabilities	0	3
Other accrued expenses	1	0
Total current liabilities	20,505	20,529
Long-term debt	0	0
Long-term accrued compensation and retirement benefits	0	0
Long-term accrued income taxes	10	0
Long-term intercompany loans payable	3,110	0
Long-term deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other long-term liabilities	0	0
Total liabilities	23,625	20,529
Shareholders’ equity	50,816	53,230
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	74,441	73,759
Parent Company Guarantor (Medtronic plc) [Member] | CIFSA Notes [Member]
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	0	263
Investments	0	0
Accounts receivable, net	0	0
Inventories	0	0
Intercompany receivable	249	259
Tax assets	0	0
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	4	4
Total current assets	253	526
Property, plant, and equipment, net	0	0
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets, net	0	0
Long-term tax assets	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries	71,188	70,233
Intercompany loans receivable	3,000	3,000
Other assets	0	0
Total assets	74,441	73,759
Current liabilities:
Short-term borrowings	0	0
Accounts payable	0	0
Intercompany payable	20,490	20,506
Accrued compensation	6	1
Accrued income taxes	8	19
Deferred tax liabilities	0	3
Other accrued expenses	1	0
Total current liabilities	20,505	20,529
Long-term debt	0	0
Long-term accrued compensation and retirement benefits	0	0
Long-term accrued income taxes	10	0
Long-term intercompany loans payable	3,110	0
Long-term deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other long-term liabilities	0	0
Total liabilities	23,625	20,529
Shareholders’ equity	50,816	53,230
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	74,441	73,759
Subsidiary Issuer [Member] | Medtronic Notes [Member]
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	29	1,071	15,910	264
Investments	0	0
Accounts receivable, net	0	0
Inventories	164	165
Intercompany receivable	162,357	146,942
Tax assets	237	295
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	128	128
Total current assets	162,915	148,601
Property, plant, and equipment, net	1,058	976
Goodwill	1,672	1,607
Other intangible assets, net	34	39
Long-term tax assets	550	294
Investment in subsidiaries	37,072	42,250
Intercompany loans receivable	7,491	6,516
Other assets	750	678
Total assets	211,542	200,961
Current liabilities:
Short-term borrowings	501	1,110
Accounts payable	266	261
Intercompany payable	151,745	135,660
Accrued compensation	516	490
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other accrued expenses	666	628
Total current liabilities	153,694	138,149
Long-term debt	29,017	29,004
Long-term accrued compensation and retirement benefits	1,016	965
Long-term accrued income taxes	1,369	1,048
Long-term intercompany loans payable	10,122	10,218
Long-term deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other long-term liabilities	200	207
Total liabilities	195,418	179,591
Shareholders’ equity	16,124	21,370
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	211,542	200,961
Subsidiary Issuer [Member] | CIFSA Notes [Member]
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	36	728
Investments	0	0
Accounts receivable, net	0	0
Inventories	0	0
Intercompany receivable	0	0
Tax assets	0	0
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	0	0
Total current assets	36	728
Property, plant, and equipment, net	0	0
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets, net	0	0
Long-term tax assets	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries	33,441	20,836
Intercompany loans receivable	2,810	7,401
Other assets	0	0
Total assets	36,287	28,965
Current liabilities:
Short-term borrowings	0	1,002
Accounts payable	0	0
Intercompany payable	0	0
Accrued compensation	0	0
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other accrued expenses	45	40
Total current liabilities	45	1,042
Long-term debt	4,519	4,581
Long-term accrued compensation and retirement benefits	0	0
Long-term accrued income taxes	0	0
Long-term intercompany loans payable	8,696	8,385
Long-term deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other long-term liabilities	0	0
Total liabilities	13,260	14,008
Shareholders’ equity	23,027	14,957
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	36,287	28,965
Subsidiary Guarantors [Member] | Medtronic Notes [Member]
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	1	170	0	0
Investments	0	0
Accounts receivable, net	0	0
Inventories	0	0
Intercompany receivable	0	0
Tax assets	0	0
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	0	0
Total current assets	1	170
Property, plant, and equipment, net	0	0
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets, net	0	0
Long-term tax assets	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries	64,991	63,064
Intercompany loans receivable	10,539	10,000
Other assets	0	0
Total assets	75,531	73,234
Current liabilities:
Short-term borrowings	1,292	0
Accounts payable	0	0
Intercompany payable	0	0
Accrued compensation	0	0
Accrued income taxes	2	0
Deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other accrued expenses	0	0
Total current liabilities	1,294	0
Long-term debt	0	0
Long-term accrued compensation and retirement benefits	0	0
Long-term accrued income taxes	0	0
Long-term intercompany loans payable	10,053	10,000
Long-term deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other long-term liabilities	0	0
Total liabilities	11,347	10,000
Shareholders’ equity	64,184	63,234
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	75,531	73,234
Subsidiary Guarantors [Member] | CIFSA Notes [Member]
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	1	170
Investments	0	0
Accounts receivable, net	0	0
Inventories	0	0
Intercompany receivable	60	269
Tax assets	0	0
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	5	6
Total current assets	66	445
Property, plant, and equipment, net	0	1
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets, net	0	0
Long-term tax assets	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries	63,719	61,769
Intercompany loans receivable	12,025	11,303
Other assets	0	0
Total assets	75,810	73,518
Current liabilities:
Short-term borrowings	1,292	0
Accounts payable	0	2
Intercompany payable	277	279
Accrued compensation	0	0
Accrued income taxes	2	0
Deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other accrued expenses	0	1
Total current liabilities	1,571	282
Long-term debt	0	0
Long-term accrued compensation and retirement benefits	0	0
Long-term accrued income taxes	0	0
Long-term intercompany loans payable	10,054	10,002
Long-term deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other long-term liabilities	0	0
Total liabilities	11,625	10,284
Shareholders’ equity	64,185	63,234
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	75,810	73,518
Subsidiary Non-guarantors [Member] | Medtronic Notes [Member]
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	2,691	3,339	$ 1,321	$ 1,139
Investments	14,565	14,637
Accounts receivable, net	4,863	5,112
Inventories	3,593	3,497
Intercompany receivable	164,957	144,638
Tax assets	265	1,040
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	1,250	1,322
Total current assets	192,184	173,585
Property, plant, and equipment, net	3,578	3,723
Goodwill	38,704	38,923
Other intangible assets, net	27,282	28,062
Long-term tax assets	510	480
Investment in subsidiaries	0	0
Intercompany loans receivable	12,763	10,218
Other assets	999	1,059
Total assets	276,020	256,050
Current liabilities:
Short-term borrowings	360	1,324
Accounts payable	1,171	1,349
Intercompany payable	155,328	135,673
Accrued compensation	959	1,120
Accrued income taxes	444	916
Deferred tax liabilities	0	116
Other accrued expenses	1,949	1,836
Total current liabilities	160,211	142,334
Long-term debt	4,664	4,748
Long-term accrued compensation and retirement benefits	569	570
Long-term accrued income taxes	1,443	1,428
Long-term intercompany loans payable	10,508	9,516
Long-term deferred tax liabilities	3,802	4,700
Other long-term liabilities	1,659	1,612
Total liabilities	182,856	164,908
Shareholders’ equity	93,164	91,142
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	276,020	256,050
Subsidiary Non-guarantors [Member] | CIFSA Notes [Member]
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	2,684	3,682
Investments	14,565	14,637
Accounts receivable, net	4,863	5,112
Inventories	3,536	3,463
Intercompany receivable	20,504	20,507
Tax assets	502	1,335
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	1,373	1,444
Total current assets	48,027	50,180
Property, plant, and equipment, net	4,636	4,698
Goodwill	40,376	40,530
Other intangible assets, net	27,316	28,101
Long-term tax assets	1,060	774
Investment in subsidiaries	0	0
Intercompany loans receivable	17,264	17,082
Other assets	1,749	1,737
Total assets	140,428	143,102
Current liabilities:
Short-term borrowings	861	1,432
Accounts payable	1,437	1,608
Intercompany payable	46	250
Accrued compensation	1,475	1,610
Accrued income taxes	444	916
Deferred tax liabilities	0	116
Other accrued expenses	2,570	2,423
Total current liabilities	6,833	8,355
Long-term debt	29,162	29,171
Long-term accrued compensation and retirement benefits	1,585	1,535
Long-term accrued income taxes	2,812	2,476
Long-term intercompany loans payable	13,239	20,399
Long-term deferred tax liabilities	3,802	4,700
Other long-term liabilities	1,859	1,819
Total liabilities	59,292	68,455
Shareholders’ equity	81,136	74,647
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	$ 140,428	$ 143,102