Acquisitions - Reconciliation of Beginning and Ending Balances of Contingent Consideration (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
Jul. 27, 2018	Jul. 28, 2017
Reconciliation of Beginning and Ending Balances of Contingent Milestone Payments Associated with Acquisitions [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance	$ 173	$ 246
Purchase price contingent consideration	35	0
Payments	(6)	(3)
Change in fair value	6	(1)
Ending Balance	$ 208	$ 242

-- None. No documentation exists for this element. --

No definition available.

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Namespace Prefix:	mdt_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Contingent milestone payments in business acquisition transactions.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	mdt_BusinessAcquisitionContingentConsiderationMilestonePayment
Namespace Prefix:	mdt_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of contingent consideration arrangement resulting from business combinations.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	mdt_BusinessAcquisitionPurchasePriceContingentConsideration
Namespace Prefix:	mdt_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of increase (decrease) in the value of a contingent consideration liability, including, but not limited to, differences arising upon settlement.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 28
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109223946&loc=d3e3602-108585

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 30
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (a)(1)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35744584&loc=d3e7008-128479

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of liability recognized arising from contingent consideration in a business combination.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 30
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (c)(1)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35744584&loc=d3e6927-128479

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 30
-Section 35
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6911338&loc=d3e6819-128478

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 30
-Section 25
-Paragraph 6
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6911189&loc=d3e6408-128476

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant