DEI Document	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2012	Aug. 03, 2012 Common Class B [Member]	Aug. 03, 2012 Common Class A [Member]
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	INVACARE CORPORATION
Entity Central Index Key	0000742112
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		1,084,747	30,732,838