Objectives Evaluate blood pressure in relation to early cardiovascular damage in workers exposed to lead,and explore the effects of CCM3(rs3804610),VEGFR2(rs2305948)and Notch1(rs3124591)with lead on cardiovascular damage.Methods 115 lead-exposed workers and 75 healthy controls in the Pearl River Delta region of China were enlisted.Blood pressure and blood lead,biochemical parameters,comet length and tail length in comet assay,SNP genotypes of CCM3(rs3804610),VEGFR-2(rs2305948)and Notch1(rs3124591)were measured and analyzed.Results The lead-exposed and control groups differed in terms of several basic characteristics including sex,age,and working age.Blood pressure was correlated with blood lead level.Biochemical indicators such as mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration(MCHC),low density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C),fasting blood glucose(GLU),triglyceride(TG),creatinine(CR),and total cholesterol(CHOL)were significantly higher in lead-exposed workers than in the controls.There was no significant difference for comet length or tail length in the comet assay.Our findings show that lead and SNP genotypes of CCM3(rs3804610),VEGFR-2(rs2305948),Notch1(rs3124591)elevate blood pressure.Conclusions Lead-exposed workers,even those without cardiac disease,have a higher risk of early cardiovascular damage than do healthy subjects.SNP genotypes such as CCM3(rs3804610),VEGFR-2(rs2305948),and Notch1(rs3124591)along with lead exposure appears to promote early cardiovascular damage in workers.These workers should be monitored for adverse cardiovascular outcomes,and CCM3(rs3804610),VEGFR-2(rs2305948),and Notch1(rs3124591)can be identified as potential biomarkers.