Document and Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Aug. 29, 2014
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	VENTAS INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000740260
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-Q/A
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2014
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2014
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Amendment Flag	true
Amendment Description	This Amendment No. 1 to Ventas, Inc.’s (the “Company’s”) Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (the “Amendment”) for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2014, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on April 29, 2014 (the “Original Filing”), is being filed to amend Part I, Item 1 and Part II, Item 6 of the Original Filing following the re-review of the Company’s unaudited interim financial information for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2014 (the “Re-review”) by its current independent registered public accounting firm, KPMG LLP (“KPMG”). This Amendment is being filed to disclose that KPMG completed its Statement of Auditing Standards No. 100, or SAS 100, review of the unaudited interim financial information presented in the Original Filing. In addition, “Note 2—Accounting Policies” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part I, Item 1 of the Original Filing has been amended to reflect the re-audit of the Company’s financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013 by KPMG. Part II, Item 6 of the Original Filing has been amended to include new certifications, as reflected in Exhibits 31.1, 31.2, 32.1, and 32.2, and an acknowledgment from KPMG regarding the unaudited interim financial statements, as reflected in Exhibit 15.1. No other changes have been made to the Original Filing. This Amendment does not reflect events or transactions occurring after the date of the Original Filing or modify or update those disclosures that may have been affected by events or transactions occurring subsequent to such filing date, and, except as described above, all information and exhibits included in the Original Filing remain unchanged.
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		294,335,008