Borrowings Under Lines of Credit Arrangements and Related Items (Details Textuals) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2013 Number	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Line Of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Borrowings under unsecured line of credit arrangement	$ 130,000,000	$ 0	$ 610,000,000
Unsecured line of credit	2,250,000,000
Number of banks in consortium	30
Maximum Interest payable period in months	no longer than three months
Applicable margin over index, based on certain debt ratings	1.175%
Facility Fee as Percentage of commitment fee	0.225%
Additional unsecured line of credit arrangement	1,000,000,000
Maximum Aggregate Commitment	3,250,000,000
Maturity Date	Mar. 31, 2017
Available in Alternate Currencies	$ 500,000,000
Line of Credit Interest Rate, ending	1.34%

Amount available to borrow for line of credit arrangement in currencies other than USD.

No definition available.

Name:	hcn_AvailableInAlternateCurrencies
Namespace Prefix:	hcn_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line of credit facility maximum borrowing capacity additional.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	hcn_LineOfCreditFacilityMaximumBorrowingCapacityAdditional
Namespace Prefix:	hcn_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Margin Over LIBOR.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	hcn_MarginOverLibor
Namespace Prefix:	hcn_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Maximum aggregate commitment.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	hcn_MaximumAggregateCommitment
Namespace Prefix:	hcn_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Number of banks in consortium.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	hcn_NumberOfBanksInConsortium
Namespace Prefix:	hcn_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Date when the debt instrument is scheduled to be fully repaid, in CCYY-MM-DD format.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher SEC

-Name Regulation S-X (SX)

-Number 210

-Section 02

-Paragraph 22

-Article 5

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 210

-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.22(a)(2))

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentMaturityDate
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:dateItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The carrying value as of the balance sheet date of the current and noncurrent portions of long-term obligations drawn from a line of credit, which is a bank's commitment to make loans up to a specific amount. Examples of items that might be included in the application of this element may consist of letters of credit, standby letters of credit, and revolving credit arrangements, under which borrowings can be made up to a maximum amount as of any point in time conditional on satisfaction of specified terms before, as of and after the date of drawdowns on the line. Includes short-term obligations that would normally be classified as current liabilities but for which (a) postbalance sheet date issuance of a long term obligation to refinance the short term obligation on a long term basis, or (b) the enterprise has entered into a financing agreement that clearly permits the enterprise to refinance the short-term obligation on a long term basis and the following conditions are met (1) the agreement does not expire within 1 year and is not cancelable by the lender except for violation of an objectively determinable provision, (2) no violation exists at the BS date, and (3) the lender has entered into the financing agreement is expected to be financially capable of honoring the agreement.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 942

-SubTopic 210

-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-03.16)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6876686&loc=d3e534808-122878

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher SEC

-Name Regulation S-X (SX)

-Number 210

-Section 02

-Paragraph 19, 20, 22

-Article 5

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 944

-SubTopic 210

-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-03.16)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6879938&loc=d3e572229-122910

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LineOfCredit
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The fee, expressed as a percentage of the line of credit facility, for the line of credit facility regardless of whether the facility has been used.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityCommitmentFeePercentage
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Description of the frequency of periodic payments, which may be presented in a variety of ways (for example, monthly, quarterly, annually).

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 210

-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.19(b),22(b))

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher SEC

-Name Regulation S-X (SX)

-Number 210

-Section 02

-Paragraph 19, 22

-Article 5

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityFrequencyOfPayments
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The effective interest rate at the end of the reporting period.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityInterestRateAtPeriodEnd
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Maximum borrowing capacity under the credit facility without consideration of any current restrictions on the amount that could be borrowed or the amounts currently outstanding under the facility.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityMaximumBorrowingCapacity
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant