| **Commitments And Contingencies**                       | 9 Months Ended                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               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| **Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]** |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              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| Commitments And Contingencies                           | COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIESSecurities and Other Shareholder LitigationDecember 2012 Securities Litigation: On December 7, 2012, a putative securities class action lawsuit was filed in federal district court in Minnesota against the Company and an officer (collectively, the defendants) for alleged violations of the federal securities laws, on behalf of all purchasers of the publicly traded securities of the defendants between October 17, 2012 and November 20, 2012. The complaint, which sought unspecified damages and other relief as well as attorneys' fees, challenges the Company’s disclosures concerning its high voltage cardiac rhythm lead products during the purported class period. On December 10, 2012, a second putative securities class action lawsuit was filed in federal district court in Minnesota against the Company and certain officers for alleged violations of the federal securities laws, on behalf of all purchasers of the publicly traded securities of the Company between October 19, 2011 and November 20, 2012. The second complaint alleged similar claims and sought similar relief. In March 2013, the Court consolidated the two cases and appointed a lead counsel and lead plaintiff. A consolidated amended complaint was served and filed in June 2013, alleging false or misleading representations made during the class period extending from February 5, 2010 through November 7, 2012. In September 2013, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the consolidated amended complaint. On March 10, 2014, the Court ruled on the motion to dismiss, denying the motion in part and granting the motion in part. On October 7, 2014, the lead plaintiff filed a second amended complaint. Like the original consolidated amended complaint, the plaintiffs did not assert any specific amount of compensation in the second amended complaint. The Court granted class certification on December 22, 2015. On May 24, 2016, the parties agreed to resolve the case, pending notification to class members and subject to court approval. Under the settlement, the Company agreed to make a payment of $39.25 million to resolve all of the class claims and recorded a charge of that amount during the second quarter of 2016. On July 13, 2016, the Court issued an order preliminarily approving the settlement. Concurrent with the recording of the loss, the Company also recognized probable insurance recoveries of $39.25 million. The hearing on final settlement approval is scheduled for November 9, 2016.Abbott Merger Lawsuits: On May 2, 2016, a shareholder of the Company filed a purported class action lawsuit in Ramsey County, Minnesota, captioned Silverman v. St. Jude Medical, Inc., et al., 62-CV-16-2872 alleging that the Company's directors breached their fiduciary duties in connection with the proposed merger contemplated by the Company and Abbott Laboratories (Abbott) (the Proposed Transaction). On May 26, 2016, a second action entitled Larkin v. Starks, et al., 62-CV-16-3367, was filed in the same court alleging substantially similar claims. On July 5, 2016, plaintiffs in the two actions jointly filed an Amended Shareholder class and Derivative Action Complaint (the Amended Complaint). Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint asserts that the Company’s directors breached their fiduciary duties by conducting a flawed sale process, failing to maximize shareholder value, and publishing false or misleading disclosure materials relating to the Proposed Transaction, and that the Abbott defendants aided and abetted those breaches. The Amended Complaint asserts direct and/or derivative claims for breach of fiduciary duty, corporate waste and abuse of control under Minnesota Statute § 302A.467. Plaintiffs seek, among other things, to enjoin the Proposed Transaction and an order directing defendants to account to plaintiffs for all damages allegedly suffered by the putative class and damages allegedly incurred by the Company in connection with the Proposed Transaction. On August 3, 2016, a third action entitled Gross v. Starks, et al., 62-CV-16-4581, was filed in Ramsey County, Minnesota, containing allegations similar to those in the Silverman Amended Complaint. This action was consolidated with the two previously filed actions. On June 30, 2016, a shareholder of the Company filed a purported class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, captioned Rosenfeld v. St. Jude Medical, Inc., et al., 16-cv-02275-WMW-FLN, alleging that the Company and its directors violated Section 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, SEC Rule 14a-9, and Minnesota Statute §§ 80A.68 and 80A.76, and that the Company’s directors violated Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act, by filing a Form S-4 with the SEC that contained false or misleading statements regarding the Proposed Transaction. Plaintiff seeks, among other things, to enjoin the Proposed Transaction or, if consummated, an order rescinding it or awarding actual and punitive damages to Plaintiff and the putative class. The Company and its directors intend to vigorously defend against the allegations in these actions involving the Proposed Transaction. The Company believes that a material loss is remote. Refer to Note 11 for a discussion of the Proposed Transaction.Regulatory MattersThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspected the Company’s manufacturing facility in Atlanta, Georgia, where the Company manufactures its CardioMEMS™ HF system, at various times between June 8 to June 26, 2015. On July 6, 2015, the FDA issued a Form 483 identifying certain observed non-conformity with current Good Manufacturing Practice at the facility. Following the receipt of the Form 483, the Company provided written responses to the FDA detailing proposed corrective actions and immediately initiated efforts to address the FDA’s observations of non-conformity. The Company subsequently received a warning letter dated September 30, 2015 from the FDA relating to these non-conformities. Since the completion of the FDA inspection, the Company has provided and will continue to provide the FDA with regular updates. The Company has fully-integrated this former CardioMEMS standalone facility into St. Jude Medical's quality systems. During July 2016, the FDA conducted a follow-up inspection at the Atlanta facility. On July 28, 2016, the FDA issued a Form 483 identifying additional observed non-conformities with current Good Manufacturing Practice at the facility. The Company has worked to remediate these observations. There has been no inspection subsequent to the issuance of the Form 482 and no other further action to date by the FDA. The warning letter is specific to the Atlanta facility and does not impact any of the Company’s other manufacturing facilities. The warning letter does not identify any specific concerns regarding the performance of, or indicate the need for any field or other action regarding, the CardioMEMS™HF system product or any other St. Jude Medical product. The Company will continue manufacturing and shipping product from the Atlanta facility, and customer orders are not expected to be impacted while the Company works to resolve the FDA’s concerns. The Company takes these matters seriously, will respond timely and fully to the FDA’s requests, and believes that the FDA’s concerns will be resolved without a material impact on the Company’s financial results.Intellectual Property MattersOn October 26, 2016, the Regents of the University of California filed a patent infringement action against the Company in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California alleging that two U.S. patents owned by the Regents of the University of California are infringed by certain of our catheters and other devices used to treat atrial fibrillation. The Company has not recorded an expense related to any potential damages in connection with this matter because any potential loss is not probable or reasonably estimable. Because, based on the Company’s historical experience, the amount ultimately paid, if any, often does not bear any relationship to the amount claimed, the Company cannot reasonably estimate a loss or range of loss, if any, that may result from this matter.Product WarrantiesThe Company offers a warranty on various products, the most significant of which relate to tachycardia implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) and pacemaker systems. The Company estimates the costs it expects to incur under its warranties and records a liability for such costs at the time the product is sold. Factors that affect the Company's warranty liability include the number of units sold, historical and anticipated rates of warranty claims and cost per claim. The Company regularly assesses the adequacy of its warranty liabilities and adjusts the amounts as necessary.Changes in the Company’s product warranty liability during the three and nine months ended October 1, 2016 and October 3, 2015 were as follows (in millions): Three Months Ended Nine Months EndedOctober 1, 2016 October 3, 2015 October 1, 2016 October 3, 2015Balance at beginning of period$25 $29 $31 $35Warranty expense (benefit) recognized4 — 5 (4)Warranty credits issued(4) (1) (11) (3)Balance at end of period$25 $28 $25 $28 |

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The entire disclosure for commitments and contingencies.
+ References
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