v2.4.0.6

Capital Stock (Details 3)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011 Y
Excess Share Provision
Percentage of beneficial ownership of common stock acquired used as threshold for determining excess shares	9.00%
Percentage of beneficial ownership of preferred stock acquired used as threshold for determining excess shares	9.90%
Maximum deferral payment period of purchase price for excess shares (in years)	5
Distribution Reinvestment and Stock Purchase Plan
Discount on purchase price of common stock to shareholders reinvesting their dividends and/or make optional cash purchases through the DRIP (as a percent)	1.00%

X

- Definition

Represents the discount on purchase price of common stock to shareholders that reinvest their dividends and/or make optional cash purchases through the distribution reinvestment and stock purchase plan.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	vtr_CommonStockDistributionReinvestmentAndStockPurchasePlanDiscountOnPurchasePriceOfCommonStock
Namespace Prefix:	vtr_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

X

- Definition

Represents the percentage of beneficial ownership of common stock acquired which is used as a threshold for determining excess shares.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	vtr_CommonStockOutstandingPercentageOfBeneficialOwnershipAcquiredThresholdForExcessShares
Namespace Prefix:	vtr_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

X

- Details

Name:	vtr_DistributionReinvestmentAndStockPurchasePlanAbstract
Namespace Prefix:	vtr_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Details

Name:	vtr_ExcessShareProvisionAbstract
Namespace Prefix:	vtr_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Represents the maximum deferral payment period of the purchase price for excess shares.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	vtr_MaximumDeferralPaymentPeriodOfPurchasePriceForExcessShares
Namespace Prefix:	vtr_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Represents the percentage of beneficial ownership of preferred stock acquired which is used as a threshold for determining excess shares.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	vtr_PreferredStockOutstandingPercentageOfBeneficialOwnershipAcquiredThresholdForExcessShares
Namespace Prefix:	vtr_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant