Guarantor Financial Information - Condensed Consolidating Balance Sheet (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Jul. 27, 2018	Apr. 27, 2018	Jul. 28, 2017	Apr. 28, 2017
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 4,380	$ 3,669	$ 4,691	$ 4,967
Investments	6,624	7,558
Accounts receivable, net	5,674	5,987
Inventories, net	3,681	3,579
Intercompany receivable	0	0
Other current assets	2,101	2,187
Total current assets	22,460	22,980
Property, plant, and equipment, net	4,524	4,604
Goodwill	38,955	39,543
Other intangible assets, net	21,270	21,723
Tax assets	1,413	1,465
Investment in subsidiaries	0	0
Intercompany loans receivable	0	0
Other assets	1,099	1,078
Total assets	89,721	91,393
Current liabilities:
Current debt obligations	1,545	2,058
Accounts payable	1,789	1,628
Intercompany payable	0	0
Accrued compensation	1,371	1,988
Accrued income taxes	784	979
Other accrued expenses	3,623	3,431
Total current liabilities	9,112	10,084
Long-term debt	23,678	23,699
Accrued compensation and retirement benefits	1,412	1,425
Accrued income taxes	3,042	3,051
Intercompany loans payable	0	0
Deferred tax liabilities	1,347	1,423
Other liabilities	801	889
Total liabilities	39,392	40,571
Shareholders’ equity	50,224	50,720
Noncontrolling interests	105	102
Total equity	50,329	50,822	50,787	50,416
Total liabilities and equity	89,721	91,393
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	(141)	(125)
Intercompany receivable	(37,727)	(57,446)
Other current assets	0	0
Total current assets	(37,868)	(57,571)
Property, plant, and equipment, net	0	0
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets, net	0	0
Tax assets	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries	(197,274)	(195,427)
Intercompany loans receivable	(64,313)	(63,052)
Other assets	0	0
Total assets	(299,455)	(316,050)
Current liabilities:
Current debt obligations	0	0
Accounts payable	0	0
Intercompany payable	(37,727)	(57,446)
Accrued compensation	0	0
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Other accrued expenses	0	0
Total current liabilities	(37,727)	(57,446)
Long-term debt	0	0
Accrued compensation and retirement benefits	0	0
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Intercompany loans payable	(64,313)	(63,052)
Deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other liabilities	0	0
Total liabilities	(102,040)	(120,498)
Shareholders’ equity	(197,415)	(195,552)
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total equity	(197,415)	(195,552)
Total liabilities and equity	(299,455)	(316,050)
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	(8,906)	(6,940)
Other current assets	0	0
Total current assets	(8,906)	(6,940)
Property, plant, and equipment, net	0	0
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets, net	0	0
Tax assets	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries	(153,584)	(151,652)
Intercompany loans receivable	(44,351)	(43,064)
Other assets	0	0
Total assets	(206,841)	(201,656)
Current liabilities:
Current debt obligations	0	0
Accounts payable	0	0
Intercompany payable	(8,906)	(6,940)
Accrued compensation	0	0
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Other accrued expenses	0	0
Total current liabilities	(8,906)	(6,940)
Long-term debt	0	0
Accrued compensation and retirement benefits	0	0
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Intercompany loans payable	(44,351)	(43,064)
Deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other liabilities	0	0
Total liabilities	(53,257)	(50,004)
Shareholders’ equity	(153,584)	(151,652)
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total equity	(153,584)	(151,652)
Total liabilities and equity	(206,841)	(201,656)
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	68	37
Other current assets	16	6
Total current assets	84	43
Property, plant, and equipment, net	0	0
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets, net	0	0
Tax assets	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries	60,974	60,381
Intercompany loans receivable	3,000	3,000
Other assets	0	0
Total assets	64,058	63,424
Current liabilities:
Current debt obligations	0	0
Accounts payable	54	0
Intercompany payable	2	0
Accrued compensation	19	3
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Other accrued expenses	17	16
Total current liabilities	92	19
Long-term debt	0	0
Accrued compensation and retirement benefits	0	0
Accrued income taxes	10	10
Intercompany loans payable	13,732	12,675
Deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other liabilities	0	0
Total liabilities	13,834	12,704
Shareholders’ equity	50,224	50,720
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total equity	50,224	50,720
Total liabilities and equity	64,058	63,424
Medtronic plc | Reportable Legal Entities | 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	68	37
Other current assets	16	6
Total current assets	84	43
Property, plant, and equipment, net	0	0
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets, net	0	0
Tax assets	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries	60,974	60,381
Intercompany loans receivable	3,000	3,000
Other assets	0	0
Total assets	64,058	63,424
Current liabilities:
Current debt obligations	0	0
Accounts payable	54	0
Intercompany payable	2	0
Accrued compensation	19	3
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Other accrued expenses	17	16
Total current liabilities	92	19
Long-term debt	0	0
Accrued compensation and retirement benefits	0	0
Accrued income taxes	10	10
Intercompany loans payable	13,732	12,675
Deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other liabilities	0	0
Total liabilities	13,834	12,704
Shareholders’ equity	50,224	50,720
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total equity	50,224	50,720
Total liabilities and equity	64,058	63,424
Subsidiary Issuer | Reportable Legal Entities | Medtronic Senior Notes
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	24	20	63	45
Investments	0	76
Accounts receivable, net	0	0
Inventories, net	163	165
Intercompany receivable	12,402	23,480
Other current assets	221	178
Total current assets	12,810	23,919
Property, plant, and equipment, net	1,412	1,426
Goodwill	1,883	1,883
Other intangible assets, net	10	12
Tax assets	385	385
Investment in subsidiaries	74,304	73,585
Intercompany loans receivable	6,519	6,519
Other assets	242	223
Total assets	97,565	107,952
Current liabilities:
Current debt obligations	0	0
Accounts payable	505	381
Intercompany payable	17,814	28,401
Accrued compensation	505	787
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Other accrued expenses	603	359
Total current liabilities	19,427	29,928
Long-term debt	20,598	20,598
Accrued compensation and retirement benefits	908	902
Accrued income taxes	560	531
Intercompany loans payable	14,379	14,339
Deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other liabilities	68	68
Total liabilities	55,940	66,366
Shareholders’ equity	41,625	41,586
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total equity	41,625	41,586
Total liabilities and equity	97,565	107,952
Subsidiary Issuer | Reportable Legal Entities | CIFSA Senior Notes
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0	0	33
Investments	0	0
Accounts receivable, net	0	0
Inventories, net	0	0
Intercompany receivable	0	0
Other current assets	0	0
Total current assets	0	0
Property, plant, and equipment, net	0	0
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets, net	0	0
Tax assets	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries	31,963	31,149
Intercompany loans receivable	1,088	1,291
Other assets	0	0
Total assets	33,051	32,440
Current liabilities:
Current debt obligations	0	0
Accounts payable	0	0
Intercompany payable	1,287	1,283
Accrued compensation	0	0
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Other accrued expenses	13	21
Total current liabilities	1,300	1,304
Long-term debt	2,106	2,111
Accrued compensation and retirement benefits	0	0
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Intercompany loans payable	101	100
Deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other liabilities	0	0
Total liabilities	3,507	3,515
Shareholders’ equity	29,544	28,925
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total equity	29,544	28,925
Total liabilities and equity	33,051	32,440
Subsidiary Guarantors | Reportable Legal Entities | Medtronic Senior Notes
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	390	1	29	5
Investments	0	0
Accounts receivable, net	0	0
Inventories, net	0	0
Intercompany receivable	0	0
Other current assets	1	0
Total current assets	391	1
Property, plant, and equipment, net	0	0
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets, net	0	0
Tax assets	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries	61,996	61,461
Intercompany loans receivable	20,663	19,337
Other assets	0	0
Total assets	83,050	80,799
Current liabilities:
Current debt obligations	1,224	1,696
Accounts payable	0	0
Intercompany payable	7,494	5,542
Accrued compensation	0	0
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Other accrued expenses	15	4
Total current liabilities	8,733	7,242
Long-term debt	844	844
Accrued compensation and retirement benefits	0	0
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Intercompany loans payable	19,499	19,335
Deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other liabilities	0	0
Total liabilities	29,076	27,421
Shareholders’ equity	53,974	53,378
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total equity	53,974	53,378
Total liabilities and equity	83,050	80,799
Subsidiary Guarantors | Reportable Legal Entities | CIFSA Senior Notes
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	390	1	30	5
Investments	1	0
Accounts receivable, net	0	0
Inventories, net	0	0
Intercompany receivable	1,348	1,343
Other current assets	1	0
Total current assets	1,740	1,344
Property, plant, and equipment, net	0	0
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets, net	0	0
Tax assets	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries	60,647	60,122
Intercompany loans receivable	20,663	19,337
Other assets	0	0
Total assets	83,050	80,803
Current liabilities:
Current debt obligations	1,224	1,696
Accounts payable	0	0
Intercompany payable	7,489	5,542
Accrued compensation	0	0
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Other accrued expenses	20	8
Total current liabilities	8,733	7,246
Long-term debt	844	844
Accrued compensation and retirement benefits	0	0
Accrued income taxes	0	0
Intercompany loans payable	19,499	19,335
Deferred tax liabilities	0	0
Other liabilities	0	0
Total liabilities	29,076	27,425
Shareholders’ equity	53,974	53,378
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total equity	53,974	53,378
Total liabilities and equity	83,050	80,803
Subsidiary Non-guarantors | Reportable Legal Entities | Medtronic Senior Notes
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	3,966	3,648	4,599	4,917
Investments	6,624	7,482
Accounts receivable, net	5,674	5,987
Inventories, net	3,659	3,539
Intercompany receivable	25,257	33,929
Other current assets	1,863	2,003
Total current assets	47,043	56,588
Property, plant, and equipment, net	3,112	3,178
Goodwill	37,072	37,660
Other intangible assets, net	21,260	21,711
Tax assets	1,028	1,080
Investment in subsidiaries	0	0
Intercompany loans receivable	34,131	34,196
Other assets	857	855
Total assets	144,503	155,268
Current liabilities:
Current debt obligations	321	362
Accounts payable	1,230	1,247
Intercompany payable	12,417	23,503
Accrued compensation	847	1,198
Accrued income taxes	784	979
Other accrued expenses	2,988	3,052
Total current liabilities	18,587	30,341
Long-term debt	2,236	2,257
Accrued compensation and retirement benefits	504	523
Accrued income taxes	2,472	2,510
Intercompany loans payable	16,703	16,703
Deferred tax liabilities	1,347	1,423
Other liabilities	733	821
Total liabilities	42,582	54,578
Shareholders’ equity	101,816	100,588
Noncontrolling interests	105	102
Total equity	101,921	100,690
Total liabilities and equity	144,503	155,268
Subsidiary Non-guarantors | Reportable Legal Entities | CIFSA Senior Notes
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	3,990	3,668	$ 4,661	$ 4,929
Investments	6,623	7,558
Accounts receivable, net	5,674	5,987
Inventories, net	3,681	3,579
Intercompany receivable	7,490	5,560
Other current assets	2,084	2,181
Total current assets	29,542	28,533
Property, plant, and equipment, net	4,524	4,604
Goodwill	38,955	39,543
Other intangible assets, net	21,270	21,723
Tax assets	1,413	1,465
Investment in subsidiaries	0	0
Intercompany loans receivable	19,600	19,436
Other assets	1,099	1,078
Total assets	116,403	116,382
Current liabilities:
Current debt obligations	321	362
Accounts payable	1,735	1,628
Intercompany payable	128	115
Accrued compensation	1,352	1,985
Accrued income taxes	784	979
Other accrued expenses	3,573	3,386
Total current liabilities	7,893	8,455
Long-term debt	20,728	20,744
Accrued compensation and retirement benefits	1,412	1,425
Accrued income taxes	3,032	3,041
Intercompany loans payable	11,019	10,954
Deferred tax liabilities	1,347	1,423
Other liabilities	801	889
Total liabilities	46,232	46,931
Shareholders’ equity	70,066	69,349
Noncontrolling interests	105	102
Total equity	70,171	69,451
Total liabilities and equity	$ 116,403	$ 116,382