We studied whether combined pressure and transesophageal ultrasound monitoring is feasible in the ICU-setting for global cardiovascular hemodynamic monitoring (systemic vascular resistance, SVR, and total arterial compliance, C_PPM), and direct estimation of local ascending and descending aortic mechanical properties, i.e. distensibility (DC) and compliance (CC) coefficients. Pressure-area data were fitted to the arc-tangent Langewouters model, with aortic cross-sectional area obtained via automated border detection. Data were measured in 19 subjects at baseline, during infusion of sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and after wash-out. SNP infusion lowered SVR from 1.15±0.40 to 0.80±0.32 mmHg/(ml/s) (P<0.05) while C_PPM increased from 0.87±0.46 to 1.02±0.42 ml/mmHg (P<0.05). DC and CC increased from 0.0018±0.0007 to 0.0025±0.0009 1/mmHg (P<0.05) and from 0.0066±0.0028 to 0.0083±0.0026 cm²/mmHg (P<0.05), respectively, at the descending but not at the ascending aorta. The Langewouters model fitted the descending aorta data reasonably well. Assessing local mechanical properties of the human ascending aorta in a clinical setting, using automated border detection remains technically challenging.