Segment Reporting (Details) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016 USD ($) reportablesegments	Mar. 31, 2015 USD ($)
Net sales
Net sales	$ 1,964	$ 1,768
Operating Income Allocated to Reportable Segments	628	480
Amortization expense	(136)	(113)
Operating income (loss)	293	24
Other expense, net	(65)	(75)
Income (loss) before income taxes	$ 228	(51)
Segment Reporting (Textuals) [Abstract]
Number of reportable segments | reportablesegments	3
Cardiovascular [Member]
Net sales
Operating Income Allocated to Reportable Segments	$ 299	236
Rhythm Management [Member]
Net sales
Operating Income Allocated to Reportable Segments	90	78
MedSurg [Member]
Net sales
Operating Income Allocated to Reportable Segments	239	166
Corporate expenses and currency exchange [Member]
Net sales
Operating (Loss) Income Unallocated to Segment	(134)	(82)
Special Charges [Member]
Net sales
Operating (Loss) Income Unallocated to Segment	(65)	(261)
Operating Segments [Member]
Net sales
Net sales allocated to reportable segments	2,145	1,891
Operating Segments [Member] | Cardiovascular [Member]
Net sales
Net sales allocated to reportable segments	877	773
Operating Segments [Member] | Rhythm Management [Member]
Net sales
Net sales allocated to reportable segments	535	544
Operating Segments [Member] | MedSurg [Member]
Net sales
Net sales allocated to reportable segments	733	574
Impact of Foreign Currency Fluctuations [Member]
Net sales
Net sales allocated to reportable segments	(181)	(123)
Global Interventional Cardiology (IC) Reporting Unit [Member] | Cardiovascular [Member]
Net sales
Net sales allocated to reportable segments	613	541
Global Peripheral Interventions (PI) Reporting Unit [Member] | Cardiovascular [Member]
Net sales
Net sales allocated to reportable segments	264	232
Global CRM Reporting Unit [Member] | Rhythm Management [Member]
Net sales
Net sales allocated to reportable segments	471	483
Global Electrophysiology (EP) Reporting Unit [Member] | Rhythm Management [Member]
Net sales
Net sales allocated to reportable segments	64	61
Global Endoscopy (Endo) Reporting Unit [Member] | MedSurg [Member]
Net sales
Net sales allocated to reportable segments	365	328
Global Urology (Uro) Reporting Unit [Member] | MedSurg [Member]
Net sales
Net sales allocated to reportable segments	243	130
Global Neuromodulation (NM) Reporting Unit [Member] | MedSurg [Member]
Net sales
Net sales allocated to reportable segments	$ 125	$ 116