Guarantor Financial Information - Consolidating Statement of Comprehensive Income (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Jul. 27, 2018	Jul. 28, 2017
Condensed Statement of Income Captions [Line Items]
Net sales	$ 7,384	$ 7,390
Costs and expenses:
Cost of products sold	2,204	2,352
Research and development expense	585	549
Selling, general, and administrative expense	2,597	2,580
Amortization of intangible assets	446	454
Restructuring charges, net	62	8
Certain litigation charges	103	0
Other operating (income) expense, net	151	65
Operating profit (loss)	1,236	1,382
Other non-operating income, net	(186)	(99)
Interest expense	242	286
Equity in net (income) loss of subsidiaries	0	0
Income before income taxes	1,180	1,195
Income tax (benefit) provision	103	186
Net income	1,077	1,009
Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	(2)	7
Net income attributable to Medtronic	1,075	1,016
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax	(584)	689
Other comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	(2)	7
Comprehensive income attributable to Medtronic	491	1,705
Consolidating Adjustments | Medtronic Senior Notes
Condensed Statement of Income Captions [Line Items]
Net sales	(362)	(303)
Costs and expenses:
Cost of products sold	(237)	(195)
Research and development expense	0	0
Selling, general, and administrative expense	0	0
Amortization of intangible assets	0	0
Restructuring charges, net	0	0
Certain litigation charges	0
Other operating (income) expense, net	(101)	(105)
Operating profit (loss)	(24)	(3)
Other non-operating income, net	642	423
Interest expense	(642)	(423)
Equity in net (income) loss of subsidiaries	3,119	2,421
Income before income taxes	(3,143)	(2,424)
Income tax (benefit) provision	0	0
Net income	(3,143)	(2,424)
Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	0
Net income attributable to Medtronic	(3,143)	(2,424)
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax	1,496	(1,947)
Other comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	0
Comprehensive income attributable to Medtronic	(1,647)	(4,371)
Consolidating Adjustments | CIFSA Senior Notes
Condensed Statement of Income Captions [Line Items]
Net sales	0	0
Costs and expenses:
Cost of products sold	0	0
Research and development expense	0	0
Selling, general, and administrative expense	0	0
Amortization of intangible assets	0	0
Restructuring charges, net	0	0
Certain litigation charges	0
Other operating (income) expense, net	5	0
Operating profit (loss)	(5)	0
Other non-operating income, net	268	148
Interest expense	(268)	(148)
Equity in net (income) loss of subsidiaries	3,239	2,956
Income before income taxes	(3,244)	(2,956)
Income tax (benefit) provision	0	0
Net income	(3,244)	(2,956)
Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	0
Net income attributable to Medtronic	(3,244)	(2,956)
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax	1,407	(1,572)
Other comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	0
Comprehensive income attributable to Medtronic	(1,837)	(4,528)
Medtronic plc | Reportable Legal Entities | Medtronic Senior Notes
Condensed Statement of Income Captions [Line Items]
Net sales	0	0
Costs and expenses:
Cost of products sold	0	0
Research and development expense	0	0
Selling, general, and administrative expense	3	3
Amortization of intangible assets	0	0
Restructuring charges, net	0	0
Certain litigation charges	0
Other operating (income) expense, net	0	13
Operating profit (loss)	(3)	(16)
Other non-operating income, net	0	0
Interest expense	99	49
Equity in net (income) loss of subsidiaries	(1,175)	(1,079)
Income before income taxes	1,073	1,014
Income tax (benefit) provision	(2)	(2)
Net income	1,075	1,016
Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	0
Net income attributable to Medtronic	1,075	1,016
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax	(584)	689
Other comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	0
Comprehensive income attributable to Medtronic	491	1,705
Medtronic plc | Reportable Legal Entities | CIFSA Senior Notes
Condensed Statement of Income Captions [Line Items]
Net sales	0	0
Costs and expenses:
Cost of products sold	0	0
Research and development expense	0	0
Selling, general, and administrative expense	3	3
Amortization of intangible assets	0	0
Restructuring charges, net	0	0
Certain litigation charges	0
Other operating (income) expense, net	0	13
Operating profit (loss)	(3)	(16)
Other non-operating income, net	0	0
Interest expense	99	49
Equity in net (income) loss of subsidiaries	(1,175)	(1,079)
Income before income taxes	1,073	1,014
Income tax (benefit) provision	(2)	(2)
Net income	1,075	1,016
Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	0
Net income attributable to Medtronic	1,075	1,016
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax	(584)	689
Other comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	0
Comprehensive income attributable to Medtronic	491	1,705
Subsidiary Issuer | Reportable Legal Entities | Medtronic Senior Notes
Condensed Statement of Income Captions [Line Items]
Net sales	362	303
Costs and expenses:
Cost of products sold	273	225
Research and development expense	168	159
Selling, general, and administrative expense	366	339
Amortization of intangible assets	2	2
Restructuring charges, net	10	1
Certain litigation charges	78
Other operating (income) expense, net	(259)	(369)
Operating profit (loss)	(276)	(54)
Other non-operating income, net	(160)	(78)
Interest expense	465	441
Equity in net (income) loss of subsidiaries	(830)	(338)
Income before income taxes	249	(79)
Income tax (benefit) provision	(104)	(118)
Net income	353	39
Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	0
Net income attributable to Medtronic	353	39
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax	(308)	578
Other comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	0
Comprehensive income attributable to Medtronic	45	617
Subsidiary Issuer | Reportable Legal Entities | CIFSA Senior Notes
Condensed Statement of Income Captions [Line Items]
Net sales	0	0
Costs and expenses:
Cost of products sold	0	0
Research and development expense	0	0
Selling, general, and administrative expense	0	0
Amortization of intangible assets	0	0
Restructuring charges, net	0	0
Certain litigation charges	0
Other operating (income) expense, net	0	1
Operating profit (loss)	0	(1)
Other non-operating income, net	(11)	(16)
Interest expense	21	23
Equity in net (income) loss of subsidiaries	(955)	(875)
Income before income taxes	945	867
Income tax (benefit) provision	0	0
Net income	945	867
Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	0
Net income attributable to Medtronic	945	867
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax	(239)	194
Other comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	0
Comprehensive income attributable to Medtronic	706	1,061
Subsidiary Guarantors | Reportable Legal Entities | Medtronic Senior Notes
Condensed Statement of Income Captions [Line Items]
Net sales	0	0
Costs and expenses:
Cost of products sold	0	0
Research and development expense	0	0
Selling, general, and administrative expense	0	0
Amortization of intangible assets	0	0
Restructuring charges, net	0	0
Certain litigation charges	0
Other operating (income) expense, net	0	0
Operating profit (loss)	0	0
Other non-operating income, net	(164)	(110)
Interest expense	103	35
Equity in net (income) loss of subsidiaries	(1,114)	(1,004)
Income before income taxes	1,175	1,079
Income tax (benefit) provision	0	0
Net income	1,175	1,079
Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	0
Net income attributable to Medtronic	1,175	1,079
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax	(584)	689
Other comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	0
Comprehensive income attributable to Medtronic	591	1,768
Subsidiary Guarantors | Reportable Legal Entities | CIFSA Senior Notes
Condensed Statement of Income Captions [Line Items]
Net sales	0	0
Costs and expenses:
Cost of products sold	0	0
Research and development expense	0	0
Selling, general, and administrative expense	1	0
Amortization of intangible assets	0	0
Restructuring charges, net	0	0
Certain litigation charges	0
Other operating (income) expense, net	0	0
Operating profit (loss)	(1)	0
Other non-operating income, net	(170)	(112)
Interest expense	103	35
Equity in net (income) loss of subsidiaries	(1,109)	(1,002)
Income before income taxes	1,175	1,079
Income tax (benefit) provision	0	0
Net income	1,175	1,079
Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	0
Net income attributable to Medtronic	1,175	1,079
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax	(584)	689
Other comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	0
Comprehensive income attributable to Medtronic	591	1,768
Subsidiary Non-guarantors | Reportable Legal Entities | Medtronic Senior Notes
Condensed Statement of Income Captions [Line Items]
Net sales	7,384	7,390
Costs and expenses:
Cost of products sold	2,168	2,322
Research and development expense	417	390
Selling, general, and administrative expense	2,228	2,238
Amortization of intangible assets	444	452
Restructuring charges, net	52	7
Certain litigation charges	25
Other operating (income) expense, net	511	526
Operating profit (loss)	1,539	1,455
Other non-operating income, net	(504)	(334)
Interest expense	217	184
Equity in net (income) loss of subsidiaries	0	0
Income before income taxes	1,826	1,605
Income tax (benefit) provision	209	306
Net income	1,617	1,299
Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	(2)	7
Net income attributable to Medtronic	1,615	1,306
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax	(604)	680
Other comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	(2)	7
Comprehensive income attributable to Medtronic	1,011	1,986
Subsidiary Non-guarantors | Reportable Legal Entities | CIFSA Senior Notes
Condensed Statement of Income Captions [Line Items]
Net sales	7,384	7,390
Costs and expenses:
Cost of products sold	2,204	2,352
Research and development expense	585	549
Selling, general, and administrative expense	2,593	2,577
Amortization of intangible assets	446	454
Restructuring charges, net	62	8
Certain litigation charges	103
Other operating (income) expense, net	146	51
Operating profit (loss)	1,245	1,399
Other non-operating income, net	(273)	(119)
Interest expense	287	327
Equity in net (income) loss of subsidiaries	0	0
Income before income taxes	1,231	1,191
Income tax (benefit) provision	105	188
Net income	1,126	1,003
Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	(2)	7
Net income attributable to Medtronic	1,124	1,010
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax	(584)	689
Other comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	(2)	7
Comprehensive income attributable to Medtronic	$ 540	$ 1,699