Document And Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	May 04, 2012 Common Class A [Member]	May 04, 2012 Common Class B [Member]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2012
Entity Registrant Name	INVACARE CORPORATION
Entity Central Index Key	0000742112
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		30,735,171	1,084,747