Segment Reporting (Details) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2022 USD ($) reportablesegments	Dec. 31, 2021 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2020 USD ($)
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of reportable segments | reportablesegments	2
Net sales	$ 12,682	$ 11,888	$ 9,913
Depreciation	333	352	333
Operating income allocated to reportable segments	1,649	1,199	(80)
Amortization expense	(803)	(741)	(789)
Other expense, net	(508)	(123)	1
Income (loss) before income taxes	1,141	1,076	(79)
Goodwill	12,920	11,988	9,951
Intangible Assets, Net (Excluding Goodwill)	5,902	6,121
Operating Lease, Right-of-Use Asset	386	435
Long-Lived Assets	21,653	20,795
Property, Plant and Equipment, Net	2,446	2,252
Impact of foreign currency fluctuations on net sales	(476)	47	(65)
Other
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales	(60)	13	219
Revenues from contracts with customers, disaggregated - performance measurement	(60)	13	219
United States [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales	7,632	6,911	5,701
Long-Lived Assets	1,241	1,190
United States [Member] | Other
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales	0	10	193
IRELAND
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Long-Lived Assets	478	436
Other countries [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Long-Lived Assets	481	440
COSTA RICA
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Long-Lived Assets	246	185
MedSurg [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales	4,911	4,633	3,827
Depreciation	88	91	90
Operating Income (Loss) Allocated to Reportable Segments	$ 1,625	$ 1,524	$ 1,156
Segment operating income as percentage of net sales	32.10%	33.00%	30.10%
Assets (segment reporting)	$ 2,501	$ 2,178
Goodwill	4,237	4,246	$ 3,707
Revenues from contracts with customers, disaggregated - performance measurement	5,057	4,616	3,844
MedSurg [Member] | United States [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales	3,312	3,055	2,528
Cardiovascular [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales	7,831	7,242	5,866
Depreciation	245	261	240
Operating Income (Loss) Allocated to Reportable Segments	$ 2,113	$ 1,888	$ 1,043
Segment operating income as percentage of net sales	25.90%	26.20%	17.60%
Assets (segment reporting)	$ 5,205	$ 4,417
Goodwill	8,684	7,741	$ 6,243
Revenues from contracts with customers, disaggregated - performance measurement	8,161	7,212	5,913
Cardiovascular [Member] | United States [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales	4,319	3,846	2,979
BSX Reportable Segments
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Depreciation	333	352	330
Revenues from contracts with customers, disaggregated - performance measurement	13,218	11,828	9,756
Total allocated to reportable segments [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Operating income allocated to reportable segments	3,737	3,412	2,198
Assets (segment reporting)	7,706	6,595
Corporate Expenses including hedging activities [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Operating Income Unallocated to Segment	(436)	(406)	(424)
Goodwill and other intangible asset impairment charges, acquisition/divestiture-related net charges (credits), restructuring and restructuring-related net charges (credits), litigation-related net charges (credits) and EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR) implementation costs
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Operating Income Unallocated to Segment	(789)	(1,070)	(1,208)
Corporate Segment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Assets (segment reporting)	5,941	7,525
Consolidated BSX [Domain]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Assets (segment reporting)	32,469	32,229
Other
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Depreciation	0	0	3
Operating income allocated to reportable segments	$ (60)	$ 4	$ 143