Revenue (Details) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020 USD ($) units	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2020 USD ($) units	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Emerging Markets total countries | units	20		20
Net sales	$ 2,659	$ 2,707	$ 7,204	$ 7,831
Contract with Customer, Liability [Abstract]
Contract with Customer, Liability	405		405		$ 400
Change in Contract with Customer, Liability [Abstract]
Contract with Customer, Liability, Cumulative Catch-up Adjustment to Revenue, Change in Estimate of Transaction Price	63
Contract with Customer, Liability, Revenue Recognized	28		84
United States
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	1,560	1,580	4,167	4,462
International [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	1,098	1,126	3,037	3,369
Emerging Markets [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	278	310	800	925
Global Endoscopy (Endo) Reporting Unit [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	475	486	1,265	1,396
Global Endoscopy (Endo) Reporting Unit [Member] | United States
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	270	277	715	800
Global Endoscopy (Endo) Reporting Unit [Member] | International [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	205	209	550	596
Global Urology (Uro) Reporting Unit [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	350	359	910	1,033
Global Urology (Uro) Reporting Unit [Member] | United States
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	251	257	650	737
Global Urology (Uro) Reporting Unit [Member] | International [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	99	102	260	297
Global CRM Reporting Unit [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	465	478	1,253	1,467
Global CRM Reporting Unit [Member] | United States
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	275	284	738	860
Global CRM Reporting Unit [Member] | International [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	190	194	515	607
Global Electrophysiology (EP) Reporting Unit [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	76	81	202	245
Global Electrophysiology (EP) Reporting Unit [Member] | United States
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	33	38	86	113
Global Electrophysiology (EP) Reporting Unit [Member] | International [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	43	43	116	132
Global Neuromodulation (NM) Reporting Unit [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	216	222	529	612
Global Neuromodulation (NM) Reporting Unit [Member] | United States
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	176	183	426	487
Global Neuromodulation (NM) Reporting Unit [Member] | International [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	41	39	103	125
Global Interventional Cardiology (IC) Reporting Unit [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	586	700	1,714	2,067
Global Interventional Cardiology (IC) Reporting Unit [Member] | United States
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	255	327	741	942
Global Interventional Cardiology (IC) Reporting Unit [Member] | International [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	331	373	973	1,126
Global Peripheral Interventions (PI) Reporting Unit [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	416	358	1,148	989
Global Peripheral Interventions (PI) Reporting Unit [Member] | United States
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	236	195	649	507
Global Peripheral Interventions (PI) Reporting Unit [Member] | International [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	179	163	499	482
Specialty Pharmaceuticals [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	74	23	183	23
Specialty Pharmaceuticals [Member] | United States
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	65	19	162	19
Specialty Pharmaceuticals [Member] | International [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	10	4	21	4
BSX Reportable Segments [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	2,584	2,684	7,021	7,807
BSX Reportable Segments [Member] | United States
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	1,496	1,561	4,005	4,443
BSX Reportable Segments [Member] | EMEA [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	540	535	1,507	1,667
BSX Reportable Segments [Member] | APAC [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	472	485	1,292	1,403
BSX Reportable Segments [Member] | Latin America and Canada [Member]
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Net sales	$ 77	$ 102	$ 217	$ 294