| **Net Earnings Per Share (Tables)**                                 | 6 Months Ended                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
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| **Earnings Per Share [Abstract]**                                   |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| Schedule Of Computation Of Basic And Diluted Net Earnings Per Share | The table below sets forth the computation of basic and diluted net earnings per share attributable to St. Jude Medical, Inc. (in millions, except per share amounts): Three Months Ended Six Months Ended June 29, 2013 June 30, 2012 June 29, 2013 June 30, 2012Numerator:       Net earnings attributable to St. Jude Medical, Inc.$115 $244 $338 $456Denominator:       Basic weighted average shares outstanding283.9 313.9 284.6 314.8Effect of dilutive securities:       Employee stock options2.5 1.1 2.2 1.5Restricted stock units0.3 0.2 0.3 0.1Diluted weighted average shares outstanding286.7 315.2 287.1 316.4Basic net earnings per share attributable to St. Jude Medical, Inc.$0.41 $0.78 $1.19 $1.45Diluted net earnings per share attributable to St. Jude Medical, Inc.$0.40 $0.78 $1.18 $1.44 |

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| - Definition
Tabular disclosure of an entity's basic and diluted earnings per share calculations, including a reconciliation of numerators and denominators of the basic and diluted per-share computations for income from continuing operations.
+ References
Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 260 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6371337&loc=d3e3550-109257
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