Commitments and Contingencies (Details) (USD $)	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		28 Months Ended				1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2011	Jun. 30, 2011 lawsuits plaintiffs patents years stockoptions actions matters claims charges units months	Sep. 30, 2009	Mar. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2010	Aug. 30, 2010 claims	Nov. 19, 2007 claims	Dec. 31, 2010 U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York [Member]	Mar. 31, 2011 Us District Court for District of Minnesota [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 Canadian Court [Member] lawsuits	Jun. 30, 2011 State Court [Member] lawsuits	Jun. 30, 2011 international [Member] lawsuits
Loss Contingencies (Textuals) [Abstract]
Accrual for legal matters that are probable and estimable		$ 278,000,000			$ 588,000,000
Decrease in accrual for litigation related matters			296,000,000					1,000,000	3,000,000
Claims of infringement of Fischell patents		3
Patents allegedly infringed by NIR stents		2
Claims deemed to be infringed		0
Claim appealed by Cordis		1
patent related to claim appealed by Cordis		1
Claims deemed not invalid		2
Number of cases dismissal upheld by the Court of Appeals related to NIR stent infringment claims		1
Claims deemed unenforceable for inequitable conduct		2
patents for which the District Court reversed its unenforceable finding		2
Wright and Falotico patents owned by Johnson & Johnson and Cordis		4
Damages to be paid to Boston Scientific for lost profits		18,500,000
Damages to be paid to Boston Scientific for reasonable royalties		1,000,000
Patents allegedly infringed by PROMUS		3
Claims withdrawn by Wyeth and Cordis		1
Patents allegedly infringed by VeriFLEX		2
Patents allegedly infringed by ION		2
Patents allegedly infringed by Latitude		2
Number of class action product liability lawsuits in the US against Guidant		2								6	5	29
Number of individual product liability lawsuits in the US against Guidant		20
Number of plaintiffs in both class action and individual product liability lawsuits in the US against Guidant		20
Maximum payment pursuant to MDL settlement							240,000,000
Maximum number of patient claims covered under MDL settlement agreement							8,550
Actual number of patient claims participating in MDL settlement						8,180
Actual amount paid pursuant to MDL settlement agreement				234,000,000
Additional payments due under MDL settlement		0
Number of international class action product liability lawsuits against Guidant pending in Canada										4
Number of international class action product liability lawsuits stayed pending other litigation										4
Number of lead class action cases alleging Guidant product liability in Canada associated with defibrillators or pacemakers										2
Actions brought against Guidant by private third-party providers		5
Third party provider actions dismissed without prejudice		2
Third party provider actions pending in state court in Minnesota		2
matters related to Sanjay Israni shareholder derivative complaint discussed in 2010 Annual Report of Form 10-K		3
plaintiffs filing additional purported securities class actions suits in the same court		4
securities class action suits consolidated		5
Litigation Settlement, Gross			296,000,000					1,000,000	3,000,000
Litigation Settlement, Expense			294,000,000
Reversal of accrual related to US DOJ Minnesota matter			2,000,000
Number of misdemeanor charges Guidant pled guilty to in US DOJ Minnesota matter		2
Years of probation		3
Contribution commitment towards education program	$ 15,000,000
Derivative lawsuits dismissed		3
Product liability lawsuits dismissed		4
Number of cases dismissal upheld by California Court of Appeals related to ANCURE Endograft product liability-related matters		1
Dismissals the Supreme Court declined to review		2
Dismissals for which review was not sought by the plaintiffs		2
Pending cases related to the ANCURE Endograft System		0
Potential unfiled claims		130
Mirowski patents deemed non-infringed		2
Patents allegedly infringed by vena cava filters		2