Guarantor Financial Information - Condensed Consolidating Balance Sheet (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Oct. 27, 2017	Apr. 28, 2017	Oct. 28, 2016	Apr. 29, 2016
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 5,529	$ 4,967	$ 2,954	$ 2,876
Investments	7,997	8,741
Accounts receivable, net	5,752	5,591
Inventories, net	3,638	3,338
Intercompany receivable	0	0
Other current assets	2,246	1,865
Current assets held for sale	0	371
Total current assets	25,162	24,873
Property, plant, and equipment, net	4,441	4,361
Goodwill	39,077	38,515
Other intangible assets, net	22,625	23,407
Tax assets	1,749	1,509
Investment in subsidiaries	0	0
Intercompany loans receivable	0	0
Other assets	1,404	1,232
Noncurrent assets held for sale	0	5,919
Total assets	94,458	99,816
Current liabilities:
Current debt obligations	3,131	7,520
Accounts payable	1,718	1,731
Intercompany payable	0	0
Accrued compensation	1,502	1,860
Accrued income taxes	872	633
Other accrued expenses	3,273	2,442
Current liabilities held for sale	0	34
Total current liabilities	10,496	14,220
Long-term debt	25,941	25,921
Accrued compensation and retirement benefits	1,475	1,641
Accrued income taxes	2,194	2,405
Intercompany loans payable	0	0
Deferred tax liabilities	1,841	2,978
Other liabilities	933	1,515
Noncurrent liabilities held for sale	0	720
Total liabilities	42,880	49,400
Shareholders’ equity	51,469	50,294
Noncontrolling interests	109	122
Total equity	51,578	50,416	50,293	52,063
Total liabilities and equity	94,458	99,816
Consolidating Adjustments | Medtronic Senior Notes
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0	0	0
Investments	0	0
Accounts receivable, net	0	0
Inventories, net	(162)	(178)
Intercompany receivable	(13,839)	(12,681)
Other current assets	0	0
Current assets held for sale		0
Total current assets	(14,001)	(12,859)
Property, plant, and equipment, net	0	0
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets, net	0	0
Tax assets	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries	(195,161)	(180,360)
Intercompany loans receivable	(71,270)	(64,050)
Other assets	0	0
Noncurrent assets held for sale		0
Total assets	(280,432)	(257,269)
Current liabilities:
Current debt obligations	0	0
Accounts payable	0	0
Intercompany payable	(13,839)	(12,681)
Accrued compensation	0	0
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Other accrued expenses	0	0
Current liabilities held for sale		0
Total current liabilities	(13,839)	(12,681)
Long-term debt	0	0
Accrued compensation and retirement benefits	0	0
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Intercompany loans payable	(71,270)	(64,050)
Deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other liabilities	0	0
Noncurrent liabilities held for sale		0
Total liabilities	(85,109)	(76,731)
Shareholders’ equity	(195,323)	(180,538)
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total equity	(195,323)	(180,538)
Total liabilities and equity	(280,432)	(257,269)
Consolidating Adjustments | CIFSA Senior Notes
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0	0	0
Investments	0	0
Accounts receivable, net	0	0
Inventories, net	0	0
Intercompany receivable	(126)	(135)
Other current assets	0	0
Current assets held for sale		0
Total current assets	(126)	(135)
Property, plant, and equipment, net	0	0
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets, net	0	0
Tax assets	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries	(154,726)	(138,182)
Intercompany loans receivable	(48,416)	(40,621)
Other assets	0	0
Noncurrent assets held for sale		0
Total assets	(203,268)	(178,938)
Current liabilities:
Current debt obligations	0	0
Accounts payable	0	0
Intercompany payable	(126)	(135)
Accrued compensation	0	0
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Other accrued expenses	0	0
Current liabilities held for sale		0
Total current liabilities	(126)	(135)
Long-term debt	0	0
Accrued compensation and retirement benefits	0	0
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Intercompany loans payable	(48,416)	(40,621)
Deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other liabilities	0	0
Noncurrent liabilities held for sale		0
Total liabilities	(48,542)	(40,756)
Shareholders’ equity	(154,726)	(138,182)
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total equity	(154,726)	(138,182)
Total liabilities and equity	(203,268)	(178,938)
Medtronic plc | CIFSA Senior Notes
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents			0	0
Medtronic plc | Reportable Legal Entities | Medtronic Senior Notes
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0	0	0
Investments	0	0
Accounts receivable, net	0	0
Inventories, net	0	0
Intercompany receivable	55	63
Other current assets	10	10
Current assets held for sale		0
Total current assets	65	73
Property, plant, and equipment, net	0	0
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets, net	0	0
Tax assets	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries	59,762	55,833
Intercompany loans receivable	3,112	3,000
Other assets	0	0
Noncurrent assets held for sale		0
Total assets	62,939	58,906
Current liabilities:
Current debt obligations	0	0
Accounts payable	0	0
Intercompany payable	11	12
Accrued compensation	6	9
Accrued income taxes	14	13
Other accrued expenses	88	0
Current liabilities held for sale		0
Total current liabilities	119	34
Long-term debt	0	0
Accrued compensation and retirement benefits	0	0
Accrued income taxes	10	10
Intercompany loans payable	11,316	8,568
Deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other liabilities	25	0
Noncurrent liabilities held for sale		0
Total liabilities	11,470	8,612
Shareholders’ equity	51,469	50,294
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total equity	51,469	50,294
Total liabilities and equity	62,939	58,906
Medtronic plc | Reportable Legal Entities | CIFSA Senior Notes
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0
Investments	0	0
Accounts receivable, net	0	0
Inventories, net	0	0
Intercompany receivable	55	63
Other current assets	10	10
Current assets held for sale		0
Total current assets	65	73
Property, plant, and equipment, net	0	0
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets, net	0	0
Tax assets	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries	59,762	55,833
Intercompany loans receivable	3,112	3,000
Other assets	0	0
Noncurrent assets held for sale		0
Total assets	62,939	58,906
Current liabilities:
Current debt obligations	0	0
Accounts payable	0	0
Intercompany payable	11	12
Accrued compensation	6	9
Accrued income taxes	14	13
Other accrued expenses	88	0
Current liabilities held for sale		0
Total current liabilities	119	34
Long-term debt	0	0
Accrued compensation and retirement benefits	0	0
Accrued income taxes	10	10
Intercompany loans payable	11,316	8,568
Deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other liabilities	25	0
Noncurrent liabilities held for sale		0
Total liabilities	11,470	8,612
Shareholders’ equity	51,469	50,294
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total equity	51,469	50,294
Total liabilities and equity	62,939	58,906
Subsidiary Issuer | CIFSA Senior Notes
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents			326	208
Subsidiary Issuer | Reportable Legal Entities | Medtronic Senior Notes
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	47	45	71	55
Investments	0	0
Accounts receivable, net	0	0
Inventories, net	175	155
Intercompany receivable	0	0
Other current assets	195	227
Current assets held for sale		0
Total current assets	417	427
Property, plant, and equipment, net	1,333	1,311
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets, net	15	20
Tax assets	792	727
Investment in subsidiaries	74,787	71,909
Intercompany loans receivable	9,958	12,162
Other assets	439	434
Noncurrent assets held for sale		0
Total assets	87,741	86,990
Current liabilities:
Current debt obligations	2,000	5,000
Accounts payable	317	304
Intercompany payable	13,828	12,669
Accrued compensation	604	734
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Other accrued expenses	472	352
Current liabilities held for sale		0
Total current liabilities	17,221	19,059
Long-term debt	21,785	21,782
Accrued compensation and retirement benefits	966	1,120
Accrued income taxes	1,620	1,658
Intercompany loans payable	14,835	13,151
Deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other liabilities	63	153
Noncurrent liabilities held for sale		0
Total liabilities	56,490	56,923
Shareholders’ equity	31,251	30,067
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total equity	31,251	30,067
Total liabilities and equity	87,741	86,990
Subsidiary Issuer | Reportable Legal Entities | CIFSA Senior Notes
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	0	33
Investments	0	0
Accounts receivable, net	0	0
Inventories, net	0	0
Intercompany receivable	0	0
Other current assets	0	0
Current assets held for sale		0
Total current assets	0	33
Property, plant, and equipment, net	0	0
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets, net	0	0
Tax assets	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries	35,680	31,055
Intercompany loans receivable	2,332	2,978
Other assets	0	0
Noncurrent assets held for sale		0
Total assets	38,012	34,066
Current liabilities:
Current debt obligations	0	1,176
Accounts payable	0	0
Intercompany payable	0	0
Accrued compensation	0	0
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Other accrued expenses	21	23
Current liabilities held for sale		0
Total current liabilities	21	1,199
Long-term debt	2,122	2,133
Accrued compensation and retirement benefits	0	0
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Intercompany loans payable	1,374	1,369
Deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other liabilities	0	0
Noncurrent liabilities held for sale		0
Total liabilities	3,517	4,701
Shareholders’ equity	34,495	29,365
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total equity	34,495	29,365
Total liabilities and equity	38,012	34,066
Subsidiary Guarantors | CIFSA Senior Notes
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents			108	0
Subsidiary Guarantors | Reportable Legal Entities | Medtronic Senior Notes
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	822	5	108	0
Investments	0	0
Accounts receivable, net	0	0
Inventories, net	0	0
Intercompany receivable	0	0
Other current assets	1	0
Current assets held for sale		0
Total current assets	823	5
Property, plant, and equipment, net	0	0
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets, net	0	0
Tax assets	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries	60,612	52,618
Intercompany loans receivable	17,731	16,114
Other assets	0	0
Noncurrent assets held for sale		0
Total assets	79,166	68,737
Current liabilities:
Current debt obligations	699	901
Accounts payable	0	0
Intercompany payable	0	0
Accrued compensation	0	0
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Other accrued expenses	4	4
Current liabilities held for sale		0
Total current liabilities	703	905
Long-term debt	1,842	1,842
Accrued compensation and retirement benefits	0	0
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Intercompany loans payable	23,868	17,160
Deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other liabilities	0	0
Noncurrent liabilities held for sale		0
Total liabilities	26,413	19,907
Shareholders’ equity	52,753	48,830
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total equity	52,753	48,830
Total liabilities and equity	79,166	68,737
Subsidiary Guarantors | Reportable Legal Entities | CIFSA Senior Notes
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	823	5
Investments	0	0
Accounts receivable, net	0	0
Inventories, net	0	0
Intercompany receivable	60	60
Other current assets	1	0
Current assets held for sale		0
Total current assets	884	65
Property, plant, and equipment, net	0	0
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets, net	0	0
Tax assets	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries	59,284	51,294
Intercompany loans receivable	19,005	17,383
Other assets	0	0
Noncurrent assets held for sale		0
Total assets	79,173	68,742
Current liabilities:
Current debt obligations	699	901
Accounts payable	0	0
Intercompany payable	0	0
Accrued compensation	0	0
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Other accrued expenses	8	8
Current liabilities held for sale		0
Total current liabilities	707	909
Long-term debt	1,842	1,842
Accrued compensation and retirement benefits	0	0
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Intercompany loans payable	23,868	17,161
Deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other liabilities	1	0
Noncurrent liabilities held for sale		0
Total liabilities	26,418	19,912
Shareholders’ equity	52,755	48,830
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total equity	52,755	48,830
Total liabilities and equity	79,173	68,742
Subsidiary Non-guarantors | CIFSA Senior Notes
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents			2,520	2,668
Subsidiary Non-guarantors | Reportable Legal Entities | Medtronic Senior Notes
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	4,660	4,917	$ 2,775	$ 2,821
Investments	7,997	8,741
Accounts receivable, net	5,752	5,591
Inventories, net	3,625	3,361
Intercompany receivable	13,784	12,618
Other current assets	2,040	1,628
Current assets held for sale		371
Total current assets	37,858	37,227
Property, plant, and equipment, net	3,108	3,050
Goodwill	39,077	38,515
Other intangible assets, net	22,610	23,387
Tax assets	957	782
Investment in subsidiaries	0	0
Intercompany loans receivable	40,469	32,774
Other assets	965	798
Noncurrent assets held for sale		5,919
Total assets	145,044	142,452
Current liabilities:
Current debt obligations	432	1,619
Accounts payable	1,401	1,427
Intercompany payable	0	0
Accrued compensation	892	1,117
Accrued income taxes	858	620
Other accrued expenses	2,709	2,086
Current liabilities held for sale		34
Total current liabilities	6,292	6,903
Long-term debt	2,314	2,297
Accrued compensation and retirement benefits	509	521
Accrued income taxes	564	737
Intercompany loans payable	21,251	25,171
Deferred tax liabilities	1,841	2,978
Other liabilities	845	1,362
Noncurrent liabilities held for sale		720
Total liabilities	33,616	40,689
Shareholders’ equity	111,319	101,641
Noncontrolling interests	109	122
Total equity	111,428	101,763
Total liabilities and equity	145,044	142,452
Subsidiary Non-guarantors | Reportable Legal Entities | CIFSA Senior Notes
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	4,706	4,929
Investments	7,997	8,741
Accounts receivable, net	5,752	5,591
Inventories, net	3,638	3,338
Intercompany receivable	11	12
Other current assets	2,235	1,855
Current assets held for sale		371
Total current assets	24,339	24,837
Property, plant, and equipment, net	4,441	4,361
Goodwill	39,077	38,515
Other intangible assets, net	22,625	23,407
Tax assets	1,749	1,509
Investment in subsidiaries	0	0
Intercompany loans receivable	23,967	17,260
Other assets	1,404	1,232
Noncurrent assets held for sale		5,919
Total assets	117,602	117,040
Current liabilities:
Current debt obligations	2,432	5,443
Accounts payable	1,718	1,731
Intercompany payable	115	123
Accrued compensation	1,496	1,851
Accrued income taxes	858	620
Other accrued expenses	3,156	2,411
Current liabilities held for sale		34
Total current liabilities	9,775	12,213
Long-term debt	21,977	21,946
Accrued compensation and retirement benefits	1,475	1,641
Accrued income taxes	2,184	2,395
Intercompany loans payable	11,858	13,523
Deferred tax liabilities	1,841	2,978
Other liabilities	907	1,515
Noncurrent liabilities held for sale		720
Total liabilities	50,017	56,931
Shareholders’ equity	67,476	59,987
Noncontrolling interests	109	122
Total equity	67,585	60,109
Total liabilities and equity	$ 117,602	$ 117,040