Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings (USD $) In Millions, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Oct. 25, 2013	Oct. 26, 2012	Oct. 25, 2013	Oct. 26, 2012
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 4,194	$ 4,095	$ 8,277	$ 8,103
Costs and expenses:
Cost of products sold	1,090	1,020	2,112	1,993
Research and development expense	372	387	732	772
Selling, general, and administrative expense	1,438	1,417	2,854	2,822
Special Charges	0	0	40	0
Restructuring charges	0	0	18	0
Certain litigation charges, net	24	245	24	245
Acquisition-related items	0	6	(96)	11
Amortization of intangible assets	88	79	174	159
Other expense, net	33	63	77	102
Interest expense, net	33	24	73	57
Total costs and expenses	3,078	3,241	6,008	6,161
Earnings before income taxes	1,116	854	2,269	1,942
Provision for income taxes	214	208	414	432
Net earnings	$ 902	$ 646	$ 1,855	$ 1,510
Basic earnings per share:
Net earnings (usd per share)	$ 0.90	$ 0.63	$ 1.85	$ 1.47
Diluted earnings per share:
Net earnings (usd per share)	$ 0.89	$ 0.63	$ 1.83	$ 1.46
Basic weighted average shares outstanding (shares)	998.9	1,019.4	1,004.5	1,024.4
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding (shares)	1,009.4	1,027.8	1,015.5	1,032.2
Cash dividends declared per common share	$ 0.28	$ 0.26	$ 0.56	$ 0.52